Proverbs 9:8

Pro 9:8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

Ver. 8. Reprove not a scorner.] See my "Commonplace of Admonition." Look how dogs prefer loathsome carrion before the sweetest odours, and would fly in the faces of such as would drive them from it: so is it here.

And he will love thee.] When he hath well considered he will, though, for present, he may seem to do otherwise; as Ass swaggered with the prophet, and put him in prison. We read in the ecclesiastical history that Agapetus, bishop of Rome, being sent by Theodatus, king of Goths, to Constantinople on an embassy to Justinian, and having obtained a peace, he was earnestly entreated by the emperor to subscribe and confirm the heresy of Eutyches. This when he utterly refused to do, the emperor threatened him in case he did not. Agapetus thereto boldly replied - I had a desire to wait upon Justinian, whom I took to be a most pious prince; but now I perceive him to be a most violent persecutor, a second Dioclesian. With this free reproof, and God’s blessing with it, Justinian was so wrought upon, that he presently embraced the true faith, and banishing bishop Anthemius, a great propagator of the Eutychian heresy, he set up Menna, an orthodox divine, in his room, whom Agapetus consecrated, if Platina may be believed. {a} David loved Nathan the better while he lived for dealing so plainly with him, and named him a commissioner for the declaring of his successor. {1Ki 1:32-35} So Alipius loved Augustine for reproving him.

{a} Funcius.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pro 9:8-9. Reprove not a scorner — An incorrigible sinner, who despises and scornfully rejects the means of amendment. Thus physicians deny physic to persons in a desperate condition; lest he hate thee — Whereby thou wilt not only expose thyself, without necessity, to his malice and rage, but also make thyself utterly incapable of doing that good, which, possibly, thou mightest do by other more prudent and proper means. Rebuke a wise man — Who is opposed to the scorner, to intimate that scorners, however they are thought by themselves or others to be witty or wise, yet, in God’s account, and in truth, are fools; and he will love thee — Both for that faithfulness and charity which he perceives in thee, and for that benefit which he receives from thee. Give instruction to a wise man — In the Hebrew it is only give; for, as receiving is put for learning, (Pro 1:3,) so giving is put for teaching. And he will be yet wiser — This is an undoubted maxim, that a man disposed to learn, who and has already hearkened to the instructions of wisdom, will grow wiser by reprehension; and the advice given to a just, or righteous man, one truly desirous of knowing and practising his duty, will make him yet better, and much improve him in every branch of piety and virtue.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Meaning them that are incorrigible, which Christ calleth dogs and swine: or he speaketh this in comparison, not that the wicked should not be rebuked, but he showeth their malice, and the small hope of profit.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee,.... For wicked men are apt to hate those that publicly rebuke them, Amo 5:10. Hence minister's of the word are of all men most hated; though this also should be bore with, could it be thought, or there was any reason to believe, that the reproof would be of any service. The scorner here, and in the preceding verses, may not only design profane sinners, sensualists, and atheists, that despise all religion, and scoff at all that is good; but also proud scornful Pharisees, such who derided Christ himself, and trusted in themselves, and despised others, Christ and his apostles, and their ministrations, Luk 16:14; and such, as Christ came not to call them himself, so he bid his disciples let them alone, Mat 9:13;

rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee; as David did Nathan; and who was determined to take kindly the reproof of any righteous man, Psa 141:5. Such who are spiritually wise will be thankful for the reproof of Gospel ministers, and even of private Christians, and will love and esteem them for their faithfulness and uprightness, and for the good which they themselves receive hereby.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Reprove not a scorner; an obstinate and incorrigible sinner, who scornfully rejects and despiseth the means of amendment. Thus physicians deny physic to persons in desperate condition.

Lest he hate thee; whereby thou wilt not only expose thyself without necessity to his malice and rage, but also make thyself utterly uncapable of doing him that good which possibly thou mightest do by other more prudent and proper means.

Rebuke a wise man; who is opposed to the scorner, to intimate that scorners, howsoever they are thought by themselves or others to be witty or wise, yet in God’s account, and in truth, are fools.

He will love thee; both for that faithfulness and charity which he perceiveth in thee, and for that benefit which he receiveth from thee.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. Reprove not a scorner — This is not to be understood as an imperative prohibition, to be observed in all cases; but as a strong way of stating the effects of reproof upon a scoffer: if thou reprove, etc. So the next clause, also.

Rebuke — If thou admonish or advise a wise man, he will love thee, will appreciate thy fidelity, even though at first it may wound him.

Compare Psa_141:5. Zockler’s interpretation of the drift of thought here is, that it is an invitation to abandon intercourse with such persons, for you will gain nothing but contempt and insult by their association. Comp. Mat_7:6.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee. (see the last note, and comp. Pro_15:12, and note there) There are times when reproof only hardens and exasperates. "It is not proper," says St. Gregory, "for the good man to fear lest the scorner should utter abuse at him when he is chidden, but lest, being drawn into hatred, he should be made worse" ("Moral.," 8:67). "Bad men sometimes we spare, and not ourselves, if from the love of those we cease from the rebuking of them. Whence it is needful that we sometimes endure keeping to ourselves what they are, in order that they may learn in us by our good living what they are not". (ibid., 20:47, Oxford transl.) Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. So Psa_141:5, "Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me, it shall be as oil upon the head; let not my head refuse it". (comp. Pro_19:25 Pro_25:12 Pro_27:6)

Reproof.

I HOW TO GIVE REPROOF. The duty of reproving is one of the most difficult and delicate ever attempted. The people who are most rash in adventuring upon it too often fall into the greatest blunders, while those who are really fitted to undertake it shrink from the attempt. The mere utterance of a protest is generally worse than useless. It only raises anger and provokes to greater obstinacy. Unless there is some probability of convincing a man of the wrongness of his conduct, there is little good in administering rebukes to him. It is not the duty of any man to raise up enemies without cause. We should all seek, as far as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men. Of course, it may he incumbent upon us sometimes so to act that we shall provoke opposition. Jesus Christ could have avoided the enmity of the Jews, but only by unfaithfulness to his mission. Where we are in the way of our mission, or when any duty will be accomplished or any good done, we must not shrink from rousing antagonism. To do so is cowardice, not peaceableness. But if no good is done, we may only bring a nest of hornets about our heads by our indiscretion. Let us understand that while we are never to sanction evil doing, we are only called to rebuke it when the rebuke will not be certainly rejected; then we must risk insult for the sake of righteousness. The practical point, then. is that we consider the character of a man before attempting to rebuke him, and that we be not so anxious to protest against sin as to counsel the sinner and guide him to better ways. If he is in a hard, scornful mood, we had better wait for a more fitting opportunity. If he is too strong for us, we shall only injure the cause of right by attempting to grapple with him. Weak champions of Christianity have often only hurt themselves, discredited their cause, and afforded a triumph to powerful opponents by their rash encounters. In all cases to reprove well requires wisdom, tact, simplicity, humanity.

II HOW TO RECEIVE REPROOF. He who hates the reprover will become himself a scorner; the wise man will love the reprover. Our manner of accepting merited reproof will therefore be a test of our character. Thus viewed, may not the text class many of us with the scorners, though we had little suspected where our true place was to be found? It is too common for a man to reject all reproof with rage. Not inquiring whether the accusation is true, he unjustly regards it as an attack upon himself, as a personal insult. There may be fault with the reprover very often there is. But a wise man will not shelter himself behind that. Granting that the method of reproof was unwise, harsh, offensive; still, was there no ground for any reproof? To be angry at all reproof is to be one of the worst of scorners to scorn right and truth. For the conscientious man will not dare to reject appeals to his conscience; he will feel bound to listen to them, no matter how unwelcome the voice that speaks them. He will desire to be free from faults. Should he not, therefore, thank those people who show them to him? If he loves goodness, he ought to lore those whose advice will help him to remove the greatest hindrances to attaining it. If he hates sin as the disease of his soul, he should accept reproof as medicine, and treat the reprover as a valuable physician.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A scorner - An obstinate and incorrigible sinner.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.