Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
- KJV Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
- NKJV Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
- NASB Do not rebuke a scoffer, or he will hate you; Rebuke a wise person and he will love you.
- NLT So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you.
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
Don't rebuke a scoffer, who will hate you, but reprove a wise man, who will love you. The wise welcome correction; the scornful resent it.
Overview
The verse contrasts two responses to reproof, teaching practical discernment about when correction will bear fruit. The wise person values truth more than comfort and so loves the one who corrects him. This humble teachability is a mark of those being shaped by God's wisdom, and ultimately by the Spirit who convicts and conforms us to Christ (Psalm 141:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Prov 13:18Poverty and shame come to him who ignores discipline, but whoever heeds correction is honored.
- 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 23:9Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
- Prov 15:12A mocker does not love to be reproved, nor will he consult the wise.
- Matt 7:6Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
- Prov 29:1A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- Prov 28:23He who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.
- Lev 19:17You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him.
- Matt 15:14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
- Heb 6:4–8It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
- 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.
- 2 Sam 12:7–14Then 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.
- Num 14:6–10Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes
- 1 Kgs 1:23So the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” And Nathan went in and bowed facedown before the king.
- 1 Kgs 1:32Then King David said, “Call in for me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king.
- 1 Kgs 22:8The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.
- Gal 2:11–14When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 9:8 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.