He mocks the mockers, but gives grace to the humble.
Parallel translations
- WEB Surely he mocks the mockers, but he gives grace to the humble.
- KJV Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
- NKJV Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.
- NASB Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the needy.
- NLT The Lord mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble.
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
God scorns the scornful but gives grace to the humble. Pride invites God's opposition; humility receives his favor.
Overview
The LORD responds to the proud mocker with mockery, but pours grace on the lowly. This principle is so central that both James and Peter quote it (Jas 4:6; 1 Pet 5:5) to ground the call to humble submission before God. The gospel rests on this very pattern: grace comes to those who humble themselves and receive it as a gift in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Jas 4:6But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- 1 Pet 5:5Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Ps 138:6Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.
- Prov 9:12If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage; but if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences.
- Prov 21:24Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—of him who acts with excessive pride.
- Isa 57:15For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.
- Prov 9:7–8He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.
- Prov 19:29Judgments are prepared for mockers, and beatings for the backs of fools.
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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 3:34 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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