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Proverbs 3:34
New International Version
Proverbs 3:34
New International Version
Proverbs 3:34
New English Translation
Proverbs 3:34
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 3:34 tc The MT reads אִם (ʾim, “if”) and the syntax is אִם (ʾim) plus imperfect verb followed by vav plus perfect consecutive. This particle can introduce a realizable or unrealizable condition, or a concessive clause (HALOT 60-61 s.v.). A realizable condition presents the circumstance in which the apodosis is realized, “if/when he is scornful…, then he will show favor.” An unrealizable condition or a concessive clause should be rendered “even if” or “although [X would be],” referring to something that is not the case, as in, “even if he would be scornful…, then…” (cf. Num 22:18, 1 Kgs 13:8; Job 9:15; Jer 15:1). Neither of these options fit the context well. The content of the second half of the verse does not depend on the first half. And the first half is not to be understood as an unrealizable or unexpected condition, rather both are truisms. An alternative is to read the similarly sounding term עִם (ʿim, “with”), “with the scorners he is scornful” (cf. Ps 18:25-26). The LXX does not have a conditional particle, so it may not have read אִם (ʾim, “if”), but also it does not have μετὰ (meta, “with”) so it is not clear that it read עִם (ʾim, “with”). The translation presumes the particle עִם.
- Proverbs 3:34 tn Heb “with those who mock he will mock.” The repetition of the root לִיץ (lits, “to scorn; to mock”) connotes poetic justice; the punishment fits the crime. Scoffers are characterized by arrogant pride (e.g., Prov 21:24), as the antithetical parallelism with “the humble” here emphasizes.
- Proverbs 3:34 tc The Kethib reads וְלַעֲנִיִּים (velaʿaniyyim) from עָנִי (ʿani, “afflicted”), followed by the NASB. The Qere, supported by the LXX, Targum, and Latin Vulgate reads וְלַעֲנָוִים (velaʿanavim) from עָנָו (ʿanav, “meek, humble”) followed by the NIV, ESV, NRSV and others.
Proverbs 3:34
King James Version
Proverbs 3:34
King James Version
34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
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Proverbs 3:34
New King James Version
Proverbs 3:34
New King James Version
34 (A)Surely He scorns the scornful,
But gives grace to the humble.
Proverbs 9:7-8
New International Version
Proverbs 9:7-8
New International Version
Proverbs 9:7-8
New English Translation
Proverbs 9:7-8
New English Translation
7 Whoever corrects[a] a mocker is asking for[b] insult;[c]
whoever reproves a wicked person receives[d] abuse.
8 Do not reprove[e] a mocker or[f] he will hate you;
reprove a wise person and he will love you.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 9:7 tn The active participle יֹסֵר (yoser) describes one who tries to correct by means of instruction and discipline; it is paralleled by the Hiphil participle which refers to someone who rebukes or reproves another. Anyone trying this on these types of people would be inviting trouble.
- Proverbs 9:7 tn Heb “receives for himself.”
- Proverbs 9:7 tn The word means “dishonor” or “disgrace.” It is paralleled with מוּמוֹ (mumo), translated “abuse.” The latter term means “blemish,” although some would emend the text to read “reproach.” The MT is figurative but not impossible to interpret: Whoever tries to rebuke a wicked person will receive only insults and perhaps physical attack.
- Proverbs 9:7 tn The verb “receives” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
- Proverbs 9:8 tn In view of the expected response for reproof, the text now uses a negated jussive to advise against the attempt. This is paralleled antithetically by the imperative in the second colon. This imperative is in an understood conditional clause: “if you reprove a wise person.”
- Proverbs 9:8 tn Heb “lest he hate you.” The particle פֶּן (pen, “lest”) expresses fear or precaution (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 79, §476). The antonyms “love” and “hate” suggest that the latter means “reject” and the former means “choosing and embracing.”
Proverbs 9:7-8
King James Version
Proverbs 9:7-8
King James Version
7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
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Proverbs 9:7-8
New King James Version
Proverbs 9:7-8
New King James Version
7 “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,
And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
8 (A)Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
(B)Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
Proverbs 9:12
New International Version
Proverbs 9:12
New International Version
12 If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.
Proverbs 9:12
New English Translation
Proverbs 9:12
New English Translation
12 If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage,[a]
but if[b] you have mocked,[c] you alone must[d] bear it.[e]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 9:12 tn The text simply has the preposition ל (lamed) with a suffix, but this will be the use of the preposition classified as “interest,” either for advantage or disadvantage (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 48-49, §271).
- Proverbs 9:12 tn The word “if” does not appear in the Hebrew but is understood from the first half of the line through the convention of ellipsis and double duty.
- Proverbs 9:12 tn Here the conjunction vav begins a second conditional sentence, laying down an antithetical condition. It uses the perfect form of a dynamic verb in contrast to the first verb (the stative perfect for present time). While it is advantageous to be or become wise at any time, once you have mocked, there will be a consequence for it.
- Proverbs 9:12 tn The use of the imperfect tense here could be the simple future tense (cf. NASB, NRSV “you…will bear it”), but the obligatory nuance is more appropriate—“you must bear it.” These words anticipate James’ warnings that the words we speak will haunt us through life (e.g., James 3:1-12).
- Proverbs 9:12 tc The LXX has an addition: “Forsake folly, that you may reign forever; and seek discretion and direct understanding in knowledge.”
Proverbs 9:12
King James Version
Proverbs 9:12
King James Version
12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
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Proverbs 9:12
New King James Version
Proverbs 9:12
New King James Version
12 (A)If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”
Proverbs 13:1
New International Version
Proverbs 13:1
New International Version
13 A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,
but a mocker does not respond to rebukes.(A)
Proverbs 13:1
New English Translation
Proverbs 13:1
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 13:1 tc The MT reads “a wise son, discipline of a father.” Instead of מוּסָר (musar, “discipline”), G. R. Driver suggested reading this word as מְיֻסַּר (meyussar, “allows himself to be disciplined”); see his “Hebrew Notes on Prophets and Proverbs,” JTS 41 (1940): 174. A few Medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the LXX, and the Syriac read יִשְׁמַע (yishmaʿ) “a wise son listens to/obeys his father.” The translation, “accepts…discipline,” reflects the notion intended by either.
- Proverbs 13:1 sn The “scoffer” is the worst kind of fool. He has no respect for authority, reviles worship of God, and is unteachable because he thinks he knows it all. The change to a stronger word in the second colon—“rebuke” (גָּעַר, gaʿar)—shows that he does not respond to instruction on any level. Cf. NLT “a young mocker,” taking this to refer to the opposite of the “wise son” in the first colon.
- Proverbs 13:1 tn Heb “has not listened.” The perfect verb has been chosen to emphasize the past pattern of the scoffer.
Proverbs 13:1
King James Version
Proverbs 13:1
King James Version
13 A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
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Proverbs 13:1
New King James Version
Proverbs 13:1
New King James Version
Wisdom Loves Righteousness
13 A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,
(A)But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
Proverbs 14:6
New International Version
Proverbs 14:6
New International Version
6 The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none,
but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.(A)
Proverbs 14:6
New English Translation
Proverbs 14:6
New English Translation
6 The scorner[a] sought wisdom—there was none,[b]
but understanding was easy[c] for a discerning person.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 14:6 sn The “scorner” (לֵץ, lets) is intellectually arrogant; he lacks any serious interest in knowledge or religion. He pursues wisdom in a superficial way so that he can appear wise. The acquisition of wisdom is conditioned by one’s attitude toward it (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 149).
- Proverbs 14:6 sn It is not that wisdom was unavailable (as if in contradiction to Prov 8). Instead the proverb enters the point of view of the person characterized by derision and scoffing. From their perspective it wasn’t there. As observers we see that the scorner did not find wisdom because of a haughty attitude. Perhaps the proverb is given in a past time reference because it also pictures a person is done with seeking wisdom. They looked. It wasn’t there. They stopped looking.
- Proverbs 14:6 tn The verb קָלַל (qalal) is a stative verb meaning to “be small, insignificant, quick, easy.” Stative verbs seldom appear in the Niphal, as the verb does here. But in the Niphal they are often ingressive, “knowledge (be)came easy for the discerning.”
Proverbs 14:6
King James Version
Proverbs 14:6
King James Version
6 A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.
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Proverbs 14:6
New King James Version
Proverbs 14:6
New King James Version
6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it,
But (A)knowledge is easy to him who understands.
Proverbs 15:12
New International Version
Proverbs 15:12
New International Version
12 Mockers resent correction,(A)
so they avoid the wise.
Proverbs 15:12
New English Translation
Proverbs 15:12
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 15:12 tn The verb אָהֵב (ʾahev, “to love”) is stative, so its imperfect form should be future tense.sn This is an understatement, the opposite being intended (a figure called tapeinosis). A scorner rejects any efforts to reform him.
- Proverbs 15:12 tn The form הוֹכֵחַ (hokheakh) is a Hiphil infinitive absolute. It could function as the object of the verb (cf. NIV, NRSV) or as a finite verb (cf. KJV, NASB, NLT). The latter has been chosen here because of the prepositional phrase following it, although that is not a conclusive argument.
- Proverbs 15:12 tc The MT has אֶל (ʾel, “to [the wise]”), suggesting seeking the advice of the wise. The LXX, however, has “with the wise,” suggesting אֶת (ʾet).
Proverbs 15:12
King James Version
Proverbs 15:12
King James Version
12 A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
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Proverbs 15:12
New King James Version
Proverbs 15:12
New King James Version
12 (A)A scoffer does not love one who corrects him,
Nor will he go to the wise.
Proverbs 17:5
New International Version
Proverbs 17:5
New International Version
Proverbs 17:5
New English Translation
Proverbs 17:5
New English Translation
5 The one who mocks the poor[a] has insulted[b] his Creator;
whoever rejoices over disaster will not go unpunished.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 17:5 tn Or “A mocker of the poor.”sn The parallelism helps define the subject matter: The one who “mocks the poor” (NAB, NASB, NIV) is the one who “rejoices [NIV gloats] over disaster,” where the disaster resulted in the poverty of others. The topic of the parable is the person who mocks others by making fun of their misfortune.
- Proverbs 17:5 sn The Hebrew word translated “insults” (חֵרֵף, kheref) means “reproach; taunt” (as with a cutting taunt); it describes words that show contempt for or insult God. The idea of reproaching the Creator may be mistaking and blaming God’s providential control of the world (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 337). W. G. Plaut, however, suggests that mocking the poor means holding up their poverty as a personal failure and thus offending their dignity and their divine nature (Proverbs, 187). Cf. Prov 14:31.
Proverbs 17:5
King James Version
Proverbs 17:5
King James Version
5 Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
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Proverbs 17:5
New King James Version
Proverbs 17:5
New King James Version
5 (A)He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker;
(B)He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
New International Version (NIV) 
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New English Translation (NET)
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.