Throw out the mocker, and fighting goes, too. Quarrels and insults will disappear.
Parallel translations
- WEB Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will stop.
- KJV Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
- BSB Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart; even quarreling and insults will cease.
- NKJV Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease.
- NASB Drive out the scoffer, and strife will leave, Even quarreling and dishonor will cease.
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
Drive out the mocker and strife, quarrels, and insults will cease. It matters because removing the scoffer restores peace.
Overview
The scoffer is a source of contention, and his removal brings an end to conflict and abuse (Proverbs 26:20; Genesis 21:9-10). The verse shows that some strife is rooted in particular troublemakers. Wisdom acts to protect community peace by not tolerating persistent, divisive mockery.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 1 Cor 5:13But those who are outside, God judges. “Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.”
- Prov 26:20–21For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
- 1 Cor 5:5–6are to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
- Matt 18:17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.
- Gen 21:9–10Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.
- Prov 21:24The proud and haughty man, “scoffer” is his name; he works in the arrogance of pride.
- Ps 101:5I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbor. I won’t tolerate one who is haughty and conceited.
- Prov 18:6A fool’s lips come into strife, and his mouth invites beatings.
- Neh 13:28One of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I chased him from me.
- Neh 4:1–3But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and was very indignant, and mocked the Jews.
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 22:10 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.