Judgments are prepared for mockers, and beatings for the backs of fools.
Parallel translations
- WEB Penalties are prepared for scoffers, and beatings for the backs of fools.
- KJV Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.
- NKJV Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And beatings for the backs of fools.
- NASB Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And beatings for the backs of fools.
- NLT Punishment is made for mockers, and the backs of fools are made to be beaten.
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
Judgment is ready for scoffers and fools. Those who mock wisdom will face certain consequences.
Overview
This proverb declares that penalties are prepared for scoffers and beatings for the backs of fools, affirming that persistent mockery and folly meet sure correction. It closes the chapter's reflections on the fool with a sober warning of accountability. The certainty of judgment on stubborn rebellion magnifies the mercy of the gospel, which offers escape through Christ to all who turn from folly to wisdom.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 26:3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
- Prov 10:13Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.
- Prov 9:12If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage; but if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences.
- 2 Pet 3:3–7Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
- Acts 13:40–41Watch out, then, that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you:
- Prov 18:6A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.
- Prov 3:34He mocks the mockers, but gives grace to the humble.
- Isa 29:20For the ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who look for evil will be cut down—
- Isa 28:22So now, do not mock, or your shackles will become heavier. Indeed, I have heard from the Lord GOD of Hosts a decree of destruction against the whole land.
- Prov 17:10A rebuke cuts into a man of discernment deeper than a hundred lashes cut into a fool.
- Heb 12:6For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”
- Prov 7:22He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap,
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 19:29 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
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