New International Version
Proverbs 9:8
8Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.
Proverbs 9:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
- New Living Translation (NLT)So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you.
Context of Proverbs 9:8
6Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.” 7Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. 9Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. 10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Read all of Proverbs 9Proverbs 9:8 word by word
אַל־תּ֣וֹכַח לֵ֭ץ פֶּן־יִשְׂנָאֶ֑ךָּ הוֹכַ֥ח לְ֝חָכָ֗ם וְיֶאֱהָבֶֽךָּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 9:8
- Proverbs 23:9Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.
- Proverbs 29:1Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.
- Numbers 14:6Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes
- 1 Kings 22:8The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.
- Matthew 7:6“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
- Matthew 15:14Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
- Hebrews 4:6Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,
- Proverbs 13:18Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.
- Proverbs 28:23Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one who has a flattering tongue.
- Leviticus 19:17“ ‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
- 2 Samuel 12:7Then Nathan said to David, “You are the 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.
- 1 Kings 1:23And the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground.
- Psalms 141:5Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness; let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it, for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.
- Galatians 2:11When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
- 2 Peter 3:15Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
Commentaries on Proverbs 9:8
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7-9Verses 7-9 These verses seem somewhat to interrupt the continuity of the invitation which Wisdom utters. The order of thought is, however, this: “I speak to you, the simple, the open ones, for you have yet ears to hear: but from the scorner or evil doer, as such, I turn away.” The words are illustrated by Matthew 13:11 ff.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-9These verses create a break between the invitations of Wisdom and Folly. The purpose might be to warn the simple (Proverbs 9:4) that inviting mockers and the wicked is often pointless. These people have already chosen their path and respond to Wisdom's advice with violence. In contrast, the wise appreciate and benefit from corrective advice.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-87-8. shame--(Compare Pr 3:35). a blot--or, "stain on character." Both terms denote the evil done by others to one whose faithfulness secures a wise man's love.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 9:8
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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