As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
Parallel translations
- WEB As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.
- BSB Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.
- NKJV Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold Is a wise rebuker to an obedient ear.
- NASB Like an earring of gold and a jewelry piece of fine gold, Is a wise person who offers rebukes to a listening ear.
- NLT To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other gold jewelry.
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 wise rebuke to a willing listener is as valuable as fine gold jewelry. Correction received well is a precious gift.
Overview
The proverb honors both the wise reprover and the obedient ear that heeds correction, presenting rebuke as adornment rather than insult. Humble teachability turns criticism into growth (Prov 9:8-9). It models the kind of openness God's people should have toward his correcting word (Heb 12:5-6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 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 15:31–32The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.
- Prov 9:8Reprove 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 27:5–6Open rebuke is better than secret love.
- 1 Sam 25:31–34That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.
- Prov 1:8–9My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
- Job 42:11Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.
- Prov 20:12The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.
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 25:12 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.