He who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.
Parallel translations
- WEB One who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than one who flatters with the tongue.
- KJV He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.
- NKJV He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward Than he who flatters with the tongue.
- NASB One who rebukes a person will afterward find more favor Than one who flatters with the tongue.
- NLT In the end, people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery.
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
Honest rebuke ultimately wins more gratitude than flattery. It teaches that loving correction serves people better than empty praise.
Overview
The proverb assures that the one who rebukes truthfully will eventually find more favor than the flatterer whose smooth words deceive. Genuine love speaks needed truth even when it is initially unwelcome. This reflects how Christ and faithful shepherds correct those they love for their good, and such truth-telling builds lasting trust (Ephesians 4:15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Prov 27:5–6Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.
- Matt 18:15If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
- Ps 141:5Let the righteous man strike me; let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion. It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it. For my prayer is ever against the deeds of the wicked.
- Prov 29:5A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
- Gal 2:11When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned.
- 1 Kgs 1:32–40Then King David said, “Call in for me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king.
- 2 Pet 3:15–16Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him.
- 1 Kgs 1:23So the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” And Nathan went in and bowed facedown before the king.
- 2 Sam 12:7Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
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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 28:23 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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