Proverbs 9:8
in Proverbs 9Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Reprove not a scoffer, lest he hate thee: Reprove a wise man, and he will love thee.
KJV
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
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This verse in Proverbs 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseLet us always admonish each other in charity. As often as any one of us sins, let us willingly and patiently accept the reproof of a neighbor or a friend, because of what is said: "Reprove a wise man, and he will love you; rebuke …
This site's exposition
He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself
on Proverbs 9:7-9
Between the two tables the chapter pauses for a rule about correction. The same words land as insult in one hearer and as gift in another. “Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still” turns the rule into a test a reader can apply to himself.
This site's exposition
rebuke a wise man, and he will love you
Gill cites Amos 5:10, where men hate the one who reproves at the city gate. The wise man hears the same rebuke and loves the one who gave it. Proverbs 27:6 calls the wounds of a friend faithful.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
It happens regularly and it happens often that a man is cast down for a short time while he is being reproved, that he resists and fights back. But afterwards he reflects in solitude where there is no one but God and himself, and where he does not fear the displeasure of others by being corrected, but does fear the displeasure of God by refusing correction. Thereafter, he does not repeat the act which was justly censured but now loves the brother, whom he sees as the enemy of his sin, as much as he hates the sin itself.
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
"Do not rebuke a scoffer, lest he hate you: rebuke a wise man, and he will love you." It is better to be corrected by a wise man than to be deceived by the flattery of fools. A fool, when he is corrected, does not …
Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. He speaks of a wise man who is in progress, that is, a lover of wisdom, whom he previously called a little one due to humility. For a perfect wise man does not need to be …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee,.... For wicked men are apt to hate those that publicly rebuke them, Amo 5:10. Hence minister's of the word are of all men most hated; though this also should be bore with, could it be thought, or there was any reason to believe, that the reproof would be of any service.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תּ֣וֹכַח | tokhach | you reprove | H3198 → | 59 times |
| לֵ֭ץ | letz | a mocker | H3887 → | 28 times |
| פֶּן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| יִשְׂנָאֶ֑ךָּ | yisnaeka | he should hate you | H8130 → | 146 times |
| הוֹכַ֥ח | hokhach | reprove | H3198 → | 59 times |
| לְ֝חָכָ֗ם | lechakham | <to> a wise [person] | H2450 → | 138 times |
| וְיֶאֱהָבֶֽךָּ׃ | veyeehaveka | and he will love you | H157 → | 211 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תּ֣וֹכַחyou reprove
tokhachH3198 →59 times
לֵ֭ץa mocker
letzH3887 →28 times
פֶּן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
יִשְׂנָאֶ֑ךָּhe should hate you
yisnaekaH8130 →146 times
הוֹכַ֥חreprove
hokhachH3198 →59 times
לְ֝חָכָ֗ם<to> a wise [person]
lechakhamH2450 →138 times
וְיֶאֱהָבֶֽךָּ׃and he will love you
veyeehavekaH157 →211 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 7:6Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
it leads to
- Proverbs 9:7–8
He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 23:9
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
- Matthew 10:14–15
And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
- Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
- Matthew 15:26
But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
- Proverbs 9:7–8
Through
Psalms 141:5Let the righteous man strike me; let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion. It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it. For my prayer is ever against the deeds…
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 7:5
It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
- Proverbs 25:12
Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 3:19
Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
- Ecclesiastes 7:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this chapter
About Proverbs
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 210; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 225:5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.