Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Proverbs 22:10
What does Proverbs 22:10 mean?
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Proverbs 22:10
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This isn't just about avoiding argumentative people; it's recognizing that a "scoffer" is actively disruptive, like a contagion spreading strife and shame. When you remove that single toxic influence, the whole environment can actually heal and find peace.
Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This proverb comes from a section of Proverbs that offers practical wisdom for daily living, contrasting the ways of the wise with the folly of the wicked. It follows verses emphasizing the benefits of listening to wisdom and the dangers of associating with those who mock God. The immediate context highlights how the presence of a "scorner"—someone who scoffs at instruction and truth—inevitably breeds conflict and division within any community or relationship.
The Bible talks a lot about different kinds of people. But what exactly does it mean to be a 'scorner' in the book of Proverbs?
The 'scorner' isn't just someone who disagrees. Think of them as a person who actively mocks, belittles, and rejects wisdom, truth, and authority – whether that's God, elders, or sound advice.
When faced with a problem, we often try to fix it. But sometimes, the wisest action is to remove the source of the problem.
Proverbs 22:10 offers a stark, practical solution: 'Drive out a scoffer.' This isn't about simply ignoring them; it's about actively removing them from your society, your conversation, and your assembly.
The commentary suggests this means:
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When the 'scoffer' is gone, the negative consequences they bring—strife, quarreling, and abuse—will also cease, allowing peace and respect to return.
Understand the original words
lets · Hebrew Noun
One who mocks, scorns wisdom, or rejects godly instruction; characterized by pride and the rejection of correction.
madon · Hebrew Noun
Contention, discord, or conflict; often produced by foolish speech or the presence of a divisive person.
qalon · Hebrew Noun
Aggressive, degrading, or insulting language; a mark of someone lacking self-control and wisdom.
This passage directly references the 'scoffer' mentioned in Proverbs 22:10, describing them as loving their scorn and reveling in it, which sets the stage for why they cause such disruption.
Proverbs 26:20This proverb offers a related analogy: 'For where there is no wood, the fire goes out; So where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.' It highlights that removing the source of gossip and slander (like the scorner) naturally brings an end to conflict.
Matthew 18:15-17While focused on church discipline, this passage illustrates the principle of removing disruptive and unrepentant individuals from a community to restore peace and order.
Galatians 4:30Paul quotes Genesis to emphasize that the 'son of the bondwoman' (representing those living according to the flesh) must be expelled, just as a scorner should be, for the sake of unity and inheritance within the family of God.
ellicottProverbs 22:10: "Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease."
(10) The scorner.— See above on Proverbs 1:22 .
bensonProverbs 22:10: "Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease."
Proverbs 22:10 . Cast out the scorner — Avoid all society and conversation with him who neither fears God nor reverences man, but scorns all admonitions, and minds only the pleasing of himself, and the gratifying of his own lusts, which is the chief cause of most contentions; and strife and reproach shall cease — The strife and reproach wherewith he is wont to load those that either oppose…
This isn't just about avoiding argumentative people; it's recognizing that a "scoffer" is actively disruptive, like a contagion spreading strife and shame. When you remove that single toxic influence, the whole environment can actually heal and find peace.
This proverb comes from a section of Proverbs that offers practical wisdom for daily living, contrasting the ways of the wise with the folly of the wicked. It follows verses emphasizing the benefits of listening to wisdom and the dangers of associating with those who mock God. The immediate context highlights how the presence of a "scorner"—someone who scoffs at instruction and truth—inevitably breeds conflict and division within any community or relationship.
This proverb comes from a section of Proverbs that offers practical wisdom for daily living, contrasting the ways of the wise with the folly of the wicked. It follows verses emphasizing the benefits of listening to wisdom and the dangers of associating with those who mock God. The immediate context highlights how the presence of a "scorner"—someone who scoffs at instruction and truth—inevitably breeds conflict and division within any community or relationship.
"Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease." — This isn't just about avoiding argumentative people; it's recognizing that a "scoffer" is actively disruptive, like a contagion spreading strife and shame. When you remove that single toxic influence…
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Last reviewed October 2026