He that instructeth a scorner getteth to himself shame; and he that reproveth a wicked [man] [getteth] to himself a blot.
In this chapter Wisdom builds her house and calls out an open invitation. At verse 7 the tone turns from welcome to warning: what happens when you take the truth to someone who has already decided to sneer at it?
The verse does not describe an ordinary wrongdoer. One writer traces the scorner's contempt back to what he has made his centre.
A scorner is a bolder sinner against God and his own soul. He does not love to be reproved; "to the wise he will not go." Self is his aim and in practice his God, and folly is his life. That makes him a contemptuous refuser of all wisdom from above.
That refusal explains why correction rebounds on the one who offers it. The same writer first pictures a son who takes his father's correction to heart.
A wise son thankfully accepts what God has provided in the family, and pays attention to his father's correction — all the more when he is made to feel that folly is bound up in a child's heart, his own included. But what hope can there be of a scorner? Of one who cannot imagine himself to blame, and counts as an enemy the man who is faithful enough to tell him the truth?
The verse names two returns: abuse and injury. One commentator, quoting an older translation that reads "shame," takes both as coming from the person corrected, not from the act itself.
In contrast, we read, "He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself," that is, shame from the scoffer. In the same way, if I rebuke a wicked man, I will reap more harm than he does (v. 7). How much better to offer him the gospel of God's grace!
The warning comes at a deliberate point, just before Wisdom's rival appears. Holding back from the scorner is not weakness. It is wisdom handling its own enemies.
There is another woman. But before speaking of her, the Spirit teaches that instruction is wasted on the scorner. He will only hate the one who reproves him. Wisdom is wise even in dealing with its enemies.
Reproof only works if something in the person can answer it. Where nothing does, the fault lies in the hearer, not in the reproof. One writer sets the Lord's own words about holy things and dogs beside this verse.
So we are plainly warned against meddling with the scorner. To correct such people is useless; they are willing to load shame on you. "Let them alone," said the Lord to the disciples. You may only gain a blot by reproving a wicked person. They have a deeper need — to be born again. Where there is no life, hatred is the result. Reproving a scorner is no wiser than giving what is holy to the dogs, or casting pearls before the swine. The outcome may be that they trample the misdirected word under their feet, and turn and attack you.
Does that shut the door on saying anything to such people? One writer answers no. The Lord's words about dogs and pearls do not narrow the gospel:
This has nothing to do with the gospel. The gospel has to do with every creature, no matter how bad they are. God's grace goes out to the most unlikely and the most unworthy. But we must be careful about setting what belongs specially to the believer in front of people who are not saved.
Verse 7 shuts the door on reproof. It does not shut the door on the gospel.
Now the Christian has the gospel to press on the careless. But this is the good news of what God has done in Christ for him, wicked as he may be, to bring him to Himself. So everything fits together. Correction and reproof are for those who have an ear to hear, so that their walk matches what they profess. A fool never hears, though he is always ready to find fault. A wise man listens and weighs; when he recognizes what is of God, he will love you.
- Refusal. The scorner is not just mistaken. He is a "contemptuous refuser of all wisdom from above" — self is his aim, and he cannot imagine himself to blame.
- Recoil. Correct him and the abuse comes straight back from him. Rebuke the wicked man and you reap more harm than he does.
- Restraint. Holding back is itself wisdom, not cowardice: "wisdom is wise even in dealing with its enemies."
- Root. Reproof cannot fix what is wrong with him — "they have a deeper need: to be born again. Where there is no life, hatred is the result."
- Replacement. Give the scorner the gospel of God's grace; save correction and reproof for those who have an ear to hear.
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee; reprove a wise [man], and he will love thee.
Proverbs 9 ends with Wisdom's table spread and her invitation going out. Then, before folly makes her rival call, comes this warning about who will listen and who will not. The verse divides all hearers into two kinds by a single test: what a person does with correction.
Being told not to correct a scoffer sounds unloving. Then you see what lies behind his reaction. Commentators trace his hatred back to something missing in him.
Then we are warned plainly against meddling with the scorner. Correcting such people is pointless; they will readily heap shame on you. Let them alone, said the Lord to the disciples. Reproving a wicked person may only leave you with a stain. They have a deeper need — to be born again. Where there is no life, hatred is the result. There is no more wisdom in reproving a scorner than in giving what is holy to the dogs, or in throwing pearls to pigs. The end may be that they trample the misdirected word underfoot, and turn and tear you.
A scoffer is not simply someone who slips up. He has already refused correction before it comes.
A scorner is a bolder sinner against God and his own soul. He does not like to be reproved; "he will not go to the wise." Self is his aim and in practice his God, and folly is his life. So he scornfully refuses all wisdom from above.
Elsewhere Kelly describes the same man:
He cannot imagine himself to be at fault. He treats anyone honest enough to tell him the truth as an enemy.
Holding back from a scoffer is itself an act of wisdom. Wisdom knows who she is speaking to.
The Spirit teaches that instruction is wasted on the scorner. He will only hate the one who reproves him. Wisdom is wise even in dealing with its enemies.
Saying nothing is not the whole answer. If reproof will only harden him, there is another word that can be given.
In contrast, we read, "He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself," that is, shame from the scoffer. Similarly, if I rebuke a wicked man, I will reap more harm than he does (v. 7). How much better to offer him the gospel of God's grace!
The two approaches are not in conflict. Correction assumes a person who already claims to walk with God; the good news assumes nothing at all.
Now the Christian has the gospel to press on those who take no notice. It is the good news of what God has done in Christ to bring him to Himself, wicked as he may be. So it all fits together. Correction and reproof are for those who have an ear to hear, so that they do not live in a way that contradicts what they claim.
A wise man is not someone who never needs correction. He is someone who can hear God in it.
A wise man may not always follow the path of wisdom; he may need reproof. A fool is one who never hears, though he is always ready to find fault. A wise man listens and weighs; when he recognizes what is of God, he will love you.
The verse says nothing about tone. Grant adds that the spirit behind the reproof matters, and that the wise hearer can tell the difference.
Of course, the reproof should come from genuine love. If it does, a wise man will see it. Teach a wise man and he will grow wiser still, because such teaching adds to what he knows.
Behind the refusal to learn is a self-satisfaction that never suspects itself. It does not get the last word.
Egoism is necessarily unwise and evil, because man is sinful, and God is unknown and untrusted. It is self-satisfied and refuses to learn, having no distrust of its own dark, selfish, and sinful state. God despises no one, however lowly. But He hates the proud and will punish the scorner.
- Two hearers. One test — correction — sorts everyone: the scoffer hates the reprover, the wise man loves him.
- Two roots. The hatred comes from a deeper lack; where there is no life, hatred is the result, and the real need is to be born again.
- Two responses. Hold back reproof from the scoffer and offer him the gospel instead. Correction is for those who already have an ear to hear.
- Two conditions of the heart. Self-satisfaction refuses to learn. The wise man listens, weighs, and recognises what is of God.
- Two outcomes. Reproof in the wrong place brings shame and a stain. Reproof given in genuine love makes a wise man wiser. God Himself will punish the scorner.
Impart to a wise [man], and he will become yet wiser; teach a righteous [man], and he will increase learning.
These words come straight after a warning about the scorner — the man who will not be corrected. Here is the opposite person: the one in whom teaching grows. So the verse puts a question to every reader — am I still someone who can be taught?
Wisdom shows itself in how a person takes correction. One writer draws the line between the wise and the fool right there:
A wise man may not always walk the path of wisdom; he may need correction. A fool is one who never hears, though always ready to find fault. A wise man listens and weighs; when he recognises what is of God, he will love you.
So the wise man is not the man with nothing left to learn. He is the man who can still take something in.
If wisdom grows by receiving, what stops it is refusing to receive. One writer traces that refusal to its root — a self too pleased with itself to learn:
Self-centredness is always unwise and evil, because man is sinful, and God is unknown and untrusted. It is self-satisfied and refuses to learn. It has no distrust of its own dark, selfish, and sinful state. On the other hand, "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning." It is not the great who are wise, and age by itself does not understand judgment.
Standing and years guarantee nothing. What counts is a heart that still listens. The same writer names what that heart does instead of trusting itself:
Dependence on God is our only right attitude, day by day, along with hearing from one another whatever our consciences recognise as His truth. We belong to one another, and He despises no one, however lowly. But He hates the proud and will punish the scorner.
The verse promises more than a transfer of facts. It promises increase. One writer finds the same law at work in the person who gives truth out:
Whatever one measures out to others comes back with more. This is as true of ministry of the Word as of practical conduct. Heaven's law is scattering for increase: you do not lose what you give to others, but gain the more. And this opens the way to fresh gain: to the one who has, more will be given. Every bit of truth acquired leads on to fresh truth. Every sphere of usefulness found prepares for more.
How does a person move from what he knows to what he does not yet know? One writer points to obedience, and to the fear that holds people back:
"To the one who has, more will be given." Obedience to one lesson is the sure and safe road to the discovery of another... There is a temptation to hold back, in case the lessons we have yet to learn turn out to be distasteful.
Another puts the same rule in a single sentence:
Doing what we know in obedience is a great way of knowing further.
Because the increase never runs out, neither does the learning. One writer points to the moment we decide our training is over:
Don't we often think that after a set period of training, we have learned enough? Then we stop learning and start to rely on ourselves, instead of listening to God's voice. We also think we can tell others what to do. Obviously, that is a great mistake. In God's school we are always learners.
The ground already covered keeps opening up too:
Those who are farthest on in understanding the mind of God are not beyond learning a little more of the grace that turned them to Christ. As we grow in knowing what is most advanced, we get a firmer and more certain grasp of what is most basic.
- Receive. The wise man is not the one who has finished learning. He is the one who still listens and weighs, and loves the person who corrects him.
- Refuse. Self-satisfaction stops the increase. Neither high standing nor old age produces understanding.
- Increase. Heaven's law is scattering for gain. Every piece of truth received leads on to fresh truth — for the teacher as much as for the taught.
- Obey. The road to the next lesson is doing the last one; obedience to what you know is how you come to know more.
- Continue. God's school has no graduation day. Growing in the deepest truth only strengthens your grip on the simplest.
The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the Holy is intelligence.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and years of life shall be added to thee.
Wisdom has built her house, spread her table, and called people in. Now she adds a promise to the invitation. Who is the "me" who multiplies days? And whose life gets longer — an ancient Israelite's, or ours?
Proverbs pictures Wisdom and Folly as two women. Commentators read the first as more than an image.
Verses 1-12. The first section of Proverbs closes with a contrast of Wisdom and Folly, both personified. The one, our Lord, the other under the symbol of a foolish woman. Wisdom sends out her invitation after her house is built and the feast is spread. It reminds us of the parable of the great supper (Luke 14). Here too is the gracious invitation, "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine which I have mingled."
So the added years come through a Person. He sets out a meal first, then promises life to those who eat.
The first readers heard this as a promise about life on earth. One commentator faces the gap between that promise and what people saw.
The devout Jew addressed here looked for long life on earth, through divine favour. As things were, many things could change that outcome, as we see in Josiah and many others. But when divine principles have their rightful result, with nothing to hinder them, every word will come true. That is how it will be when Christ reigns over all the earth. We Christians have a far different calling now, and look for a higher glory. Still, we can say, and do believe, that godliness is profitable for everything. It has the promise of life — the life we have now, and the life to come.
Josiah was a godly king whose life was cut short. So the promise holds two things together: godliness has the promise of life now, and life in the age to come.
Another writer states the normal outcome, then names the exceptions.
If this is so, then the normal result is that our days will be multiplied and years added (v. 11). Of course, there are exceptions. A godly person may be taken away while still young, as John the Baptist was. In fact, the Lord Jesus died at a fairly young age.
The rule also runs in reverse. Commenting later in Proverbs, the same writer points to a man whose scheming cut his own life short.
In the usual course of events, those who fear the Lord will have their days prolonged (v. 27). But the wicked will have their years shortened. Haman planned to shorten the life of Mordecai. That wickedness shortened his own life instead, while Mordecai lived on much longer (Esther 7 and 10).
Elsewhere Proverbs makes the same promise to a son who listens. How does that promise reach him?
The wisdom praised here does not come by the sight of the eyes. It does not come by the activity of the mind, nor even by developing the affections. "Hear, and your soul shall live," said Isaiah; and so the Apostle, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." ... So the word here is, "Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life shall be multiplied." And there is no uncertainty when the Lord supplies the means.
So the years are not won by cleverness. They come to the person who hears God's word and trusts it.
Another passage in Proverbs puts length of days in wisdom's right hand. One writer presses that measure to its limit.
"Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honour" (v. 16). How long are wisdom's days? The answer is "eternal life." And the riches and honour that go with this are equally without end. Meanwhile, even on earth, "her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace" (v. 17). This does not mean that this wisdom will keep us from trials of faith. But wisdom ("Christ in you") gives pleasantness and peace even in times of such trial.
Read this way, an early death does not cut the promise short. The days multiplied here reach past death altogether.
- Source. Commentators read the "me" of this promise as the Lord Himself. He builds the house and spreads the feast before He says a word about long life.
- Condition. The days come to the one who hears and receives. Not sharp eyes, not busy thinking — faith, resting on God's word.
- Gift. The devout Israelite looked for long life on earth through God's favour. Every word of that promise will hold when Christ reigns over all the earth.
- Reach. Wisdom's length of days is eternal life, with riches and honour that never end. John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus both died young, and neither loses that promise.
- Result. The rule runs both ways. Those who fear the Lord usually have their days prolonged, while Haman's scheme against Mordecai cut his own life short.
If thou art wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself; and if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
Proverbs 9 sets two tables: wisdom's and folly's. This closing line turns the invitation back on the reader. The question is not whether wisdom is true. It is who gains, and who pays, when a person answers her call or laughs at it.
The verse splits people into two groups. Neither result can pass to anyone else. Scorn takes nothing from God, and wisdom adds nothing to Him. The whole weight falls on the one who chooses.
It remains true also that "If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it." God remains in changeless majesty. But in His righteous judgment, each will bear his own burden and reap as he sows. From the flesh he reaps corruption; from the Spirit, life everlasting.
There is a plain, everyday side to this.
If a person is wise, he will himself bear the benefit of it. If a person is a scorner, he will bear the results alone. No one would ever be willing to share the bad effects of the foolish words of a man who despises wisdom.
The word means more than a rude personality. It describes a settled attitude, not a passing mood.
A scorner is a bolder sinner against God and his own soul. He does not love correction; "he will not go to the wise." Self is his aim and in practice his God, and folly is his life. So he refuses with contempt all wisdom from above.
It also leaves him beyond reach.
But what hope can there be of a scorner? Of one who cannot conceive himself to blame, and counts him as an enemy who is faithful enough to tell him the truth?
If being wise "for yourself" sounds like self-sufficiency, the writers say the opposite. The wise man is the one who still takes instruction.
Another mark of wisdom is valuing what is good and helpful. Self-centredness must be unwise and evil, because man is sinful, and God is unknown and untrusted. It is self-satisfied and refuses to learn. It has no distrust of its own dark, selfish, and sinful state. On the other hand, "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning." … Dependence on God is our only right attitude, day by day.
Being "wise for yourself" is not a matter of intelligence or education. The chapter has already named the starting point, and it is a moral one.
The secret of it all is plain. … Creature intelligence is of no value for the soul, for eternity, for relationship with God. It begins, and must begin, with fearing Him — the True and the Good, the Righteous and the Holy. There is repentance as well as faith, and so trembling at His Word. That is the direct opposite of judging His Word and trusting in self, justifying ourselves instead of God.
The chapter sets rival invitations before the reader, and this verse asks which one you take.
Three women are set before us in these chapters: the adulteress, wisdom, and the foolish woman. Three things are common to them all. They each have something to say. They each have something to offer. They each make an appeal to those who are simple. So it becomes a question for each one of us: whom shall I listen to? At whose table shall I feed? In which company shall I move? Each one invites us to enter her house and to share in everything found there.
- Yourself — the fear. Wisdom does not start with intelligence. It starts with fearing God and distrusting self. Without that start, learning never reaches the soul.
- Yourself — the choice. Wisdom and folly both set a table. Both call to the simple. Each person must answer one question: whose invitation will I take?
- Yourself — the growth. The wise man is not the finished man. He takes instruction and grows wiser still. Self-satisfaction refuses to learn.
- Yourself — the refusal. The scorner makes self his god, cannot imagine he is to blame, and treats the truth-teller as an enemy.
- Yourself — the account. God's majesty stays the same either way. Each person bears his own burden and reaps what he sows. No one else will carry it for him.