Proverbs 9:7-8
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
This verse isn't just about the difficulty of correction; it highlights that the failure of the correction itself can bring shame. When you try to correct someone resistant to truth, their rejection and mockery don't just reflect poorly on them, but can leave you feeling foolish or disgraced for having wasted your efforts.
Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Wisdom has prepared a feast and sent out invitations to all who are simple, but this verse explains why she doesn't invite scorners or the wicked. Attempting to correct or rebuke such individuals, who are hostile to truth and wisdom, usually results in insult and disgrace for the one offering the correction, rather than any positive change in the recipient. Therefore, wisdom wisely directs her efforts toward those who are open to learning, leaving the hardened hearts to their own choices.
Ever tried to offer advice only to be met with mockery and insults? This verse explains why that happens and what you risk.
Wisdom herself observes that correcting a scorner or rebuking a wicked person comes at a steep price.
The Futility of Fruitless Correction
When you try to correct someone who actively mocks truth and righteousness (a "scoffer"), you're often met with derision. They're not looking for truth; they're looking to belittle anyone who stands for it. This can result in personal shame or insult for the one trying to correct them. It's like trying to teach a dog advanced calculus – the effort is wasted, and you might even get bitten.
The Danger of Rebuke
Even more dangerous is confronting a "wicked man" who is set in their ways. Instead of seeing their error, they often turn on the reprover. This can lead to your reputation being damaged – a "blot" – as they lash out, perhaps even accusing you of the same sins.
This isn't to say we should never confront sin. But this verse highlights the consequences and the need for discernment. Wisdom, in this chapter, is wisely choosing her audience, focusing on those who are open to learning, not those who are determined to resist and revile.
Why does Wisdom's invitation in chapter 9 seem to bypass the proud and the wicked? This verse provides a crucial clue.
Ask a follow-up
Proverbs 9:7 serves as a practical explanation for Wisdom's strategy in extending her invitation.
Addressing the Open Heart
Wisdom has prepared a magnificent feast, but her invitations in verses 1-6 are directed towards the "simple" and those "who lack understanding." She isn't indiscriminately inviting everyone.
The Reason for Prudence
Verse 7 explains why she focuses on the receptive. Trying to correct or rebuke those who are hardened in their scoffing or wickedness is not only ineffective but actively dangerous for the messenger. They will respond with insults, shame, and personal attacks. It's an expenditure of valuable spiritual resource (Wisdom's message) that yields only negative results.
Therefore, Wisdom's approach is strategic. She directs her resources – her teaching and her invitation – to those who are open to receiving it. This doesn't mean never speaking truth to the hardened, but it means doing so with extreme caution and recognizing the likely, often painful, outcome.
Understand the original words
letz · Hebrew Noun
A cynical or arrogant person who mocks truth, rejects correction, and resists the fear of God; the epitome of folly in the wisdom literature.
yakach · Hebrew Verb
To expose someone's error or sin with the intent of leading them to repentance or correction; a key task of wisdom.
rasha · Hebrew Noun
One who is morally deficient, contrary to the standard of God's law; characterized by rebellion and a lack of conformity to God's ways.
chakam · Hebrew Noun
A person who understands God's moral order and lives in accordance with it; one who is teachable and responsive to God's instruction.
Jesus directly echoes this sentiment, warning against casting 'pearls before pigs' and giving 'what is holy to dogs,' which is essentially the same idea of not wasting wisdom's precious teachings on those who will only trample and defile them.
Proverbs 14:7This proverb describes the scorner as someone to be avoided, stating 'leave the presence of a fool, for there you will not find words of insight.' It reinforces the idea in Proverbs 9:7 that engaging with a scorner is unproductive and even harmful.
Titus 3:10Paul advises to 'Have nothing more to do with a factious person after a first and second warning,' aligning with the principle that persistent, unrepentant individuals, like the scoffers and wicked in Proverbs, are not receptive to correction and can become a source of trouble to the one trying to correct them.
2 Timothy 2:23-24This passage urges Timothy to 'avoid foolish controversies... The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to all, able to teach, patient, correcting his opponents with gentleness.' It highlights the 'gentle' approach needed, implicitly acknowledging that forceful correction of hardened individuals can lead to unproductive conflict, as warned in Proverbs 9:7.
pulpitProverbs 9:7: "He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot."
Verses 7-10. - These verses form a parenthesis, showing why Wisdom addresses only the simple and foolish. She giveth not that which is holy unto dogs, nor casteth pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). Verse 7. - He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame. He who tries to correct a scorner (see on Proverbs 1:22 and Proverbs 3:34), one who derides religion, loses…
clarkeProverbs 9:7: "He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot."
He that reproveth a scorner - לץ lets, the person who mocks at sacred things; the libertine, the infidel; who turns the most serious things into ridicule, and, by his wit, often succeeds in rendering the person who reproves him ridiculous. Wisdom seems here to intimate that it is vain to attempt by reproof to amend such: and yet we must not suffer sin upon our neighbo…
This verse isn't just about the difficulty of correction; it highlights that the failure of the correction itself can bring shame. When you try to correct someone resistant to truth, their rejection and mockery don't just reflect poorly on them, but can leave you feeling foolish or disgraced for having wasted your efforts.
Wisdom has prepared a feast and sent out invitations to all who are simple, but this verse explains why she doesn't invite scorners or the wicked. Attempting to correct or rebuke such individuals, who are hostile to truth and wisdom, usually results in insult and disgrace for the one offering the correction, rather than any positive change in the recipient. Therefore, wisdom wisely directs her efforts toward those who are open to learning, leaving the hardened hearts to their own choices.
Wisdom has prepared a feast and sent out invitations to all who are simple, but this verse explains why she doesn't invite scorners or the wicked. Attempting to correct or rebuke such individuals, who are hostile to truth and wisdom, usually results in insult and disgrace for the one offering the correction, rather than any positive change in the recipient. Therefore, wisdom wisely directs her efforts toward those who are open to learning, leaving the hardened hearts to their own choices.
"Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you." — This verse isn't just about the difficulty of correction; it highlights that the failure of the correction itself can bring shame. When you try to correct someone resistant to truth, their rejectio…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
