A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
Parallel translations
- WEB A rebuke enters deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred lashes into a fool.
- BSB A rebuke cuts into a man of discernment deeper than a hundred lashes cut into a fool.
- NKJV Rebuke is more effective for a wise man Than a hundred blows on a fool.
- NASB A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding Than a hundred blows into a fool.
- NLT A single rebuke does more for a person of understanding than a hundred lashes on the back of a fool.
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
A single rebuke teaches a discerning person more than a hundred blows teach a fool. It matters because teachability, not punishment, is what truly produces growth.
Overview
This proverb shows that a person of understanding learns more from one word of correction than a fool does from severe discipline. The difference lies in the heart's willingness to receive reproof. It commends a humble, teachable spirit as essential to wisdom (cf. Proverbs 15:31-32).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Rev 3:19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
- Prov 9:8–9Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
- Prov 15:5A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.
- Prov 13:1A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
- Prov 29:19A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.
- Prov 19:25Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
- Ps 141:5Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
- Prov 27:22Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 17:10 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.