New King James Version
Proverbs 9:8
8Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he 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.
- New International Version (NIV)Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove 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
6Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding. 7“He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. 9Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 10“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the 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 in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
- Proverbs 29:1He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
- Numbers 14:6But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;
- 1 Kings 22:8So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!”
- Matthew 7:6“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
- Matthew 15:14Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
- Hebrews 4:6Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience,
- Proverbs 13:18Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.
- Proverbs 28:23He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward Than he who flatters with the tongue.
- Leviticus 19:17‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
- 2 Samuel 12:7Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
- 1 Kings 1:23So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.
- Psalms 141:5Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.
- Galatians 2:11Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;
- 2 Peter 3:15and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries