The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.
Parallel translations
- WEB The ear that listens to reproof lives, and will be at home among the wise.
- BSB He who listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
- NKJV The ear that hears the rebukes of life Will abide among the wise.
- NASB One whose ear listens to a life-giving rebuke Will stay among the wise.
- NLT If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Whoever heeds life-giving correction will find a place among the wise. It matters because teachability is the doorway to wisdom and lasting community.
Overview
This proverb commends the person who listens to corrective reproof, promising they will dwell among the wise. Receiving rebuke is a mark of humility and the path to growth. It anticipates the discipleship life, in which God's correction is a sign of His fatherly love (Hebrews 12:5-11).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Prov 15:5A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.
- Prov 25:12As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
- Prov 9:8–9Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
- John 15:3–4Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
- Prov 19:20Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
- Prov 1:23Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
- Prov 13:20He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
- Isa 55:3Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
- 1 Jn 2:19They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 15:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.