Amplified Bible
Proverbs 9:12
12If you are wise, you are wise for yourself [for your own benefit]; If you scoff [thoughtlessly ridicule and disdain], you alone will pay the penalty.
Proverbs 9:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
- New International Version (NIV)If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.
- English Standard Version (ESV)If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.
- New King James Version (NKJV)If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”
Context of Proverbs 9:12
10The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its starting point and its essence], And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and spiritual insight. 11For by me (wisdom from God) your days will be multiplied, And years of life shall be increased. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself [for your own benefit]; If you scoff [thoughtlessly ridicule and disdain], you alone will pay the penalty. 13The foolish woman is restless and noisy; She is naive and easily misled and thoughtless, and knows nothing at all [of eternal value]. 14She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high and conspicuous places of the city,
Read all of Proverbs 9Proverbs 9:12 word by word
אִם־חָ֭כַמְתָּ חָכַ֣מְתָּ לָּ֑ךְ וְ֝לַ֗צְתָּ לְֽבַדְּךָ֥ תִשָּֽׂא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 9:12
- Proverbs 16:26The appetite of a worker works for him, For his hunger urges him on.
- Job 22:2“Can a vigorous man be of use to God, Or a wise man be useful to himself?
- Job 35:6If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what have you done to Him?
- Isaiah 28:22Now do not carry on as scoffers, Or the bands which bind you will be made stronger; For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts [a decree] Of decisive destruction on all the earth.
- Ezekiel 18:20The person who sins [is the one that] will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the sin of the father, nor will the father bear the punishment for the sin of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be on himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on himself.
- 2 Peter 3:3First of all, know [without any doubt] that mockers will come in the last days with their mocking, following after their own human desires
Commentaries on Proverbs 9:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12If thou be wise - It is thy own interest to be religious. Though thy example may be very useful to thy neighbors and friends, yet the chief benefit is to thyself. But if thou scorn - refuse to receive - the doctrines of wisdom, and die in thy sins, thou alone shalt suffer the vengeance of an offended God.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12The great law of personal retribution (compare Matthew 7:2). The Septuagint makes a curious addition to this verse, “My son, if thou wilt be wise for thyself, thou shalt be wise also for thy neighbors; but if thou turn out evil, thou alone shalt bear evil. He who resteth on lies shall guide the winds, and the same shall hunt after winged birds, for he hath left the ways of his own vineyard, and has gone astray with the wheels of his own husbandry. He…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-12fear of the LORD: Refer to study note on Proverbs 1:7.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. You are mainly concerned in your own conduct.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 9:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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