A rebuke enters deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred lashes into a fool.
Parallel Translations
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A rebuke enters deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred lashes into a fool.
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A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
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A rebuke entereth deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred stripes into a fool.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Proverbs 17:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent.
- Proverbs 9:8-9 Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise person, and he will love you. Instruct a wise person, and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous person, and he will increase in learning.
- Psalms 141:5 Let the righteous strike me, it is kindness; let him reprove me, it is like oil on the head; don’t let my head refuse it; Yet my prayer is always against evil deeds.
- Proverbs 13:1 A wise son listens to his father’s instruction, but a scoffer doesn’t listen to rebuke.
- Proverbs 15:5 A fool despises his father’s correction, but he who heeds reproof shows prudence.
- Proverbs 19:25 Flog a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke one who has understanding, and he will gain knowledge.
- Proverbs 27:22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.
- Proverbs 29:19 A servant can’t be corrected by words. Though he understands, yet he will not respond.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 17:10 A reproof entereth more into a wise…
Pro 17:10 A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
Ver. 10. A reproof entereth more into a wise man, &c.] A word to the wise is sufficient. A look from Christ brake Peter’s heart, and dissolved it into tears. Augustus being in a great rage, ready to pass sentence of death upon many, was taken off by these words of his friend Maecenas, written in a note, and cast into his lap, Tandem aliquando surge carnifex. Pray rise at last executioner! {a} When Luther was once in a great heat, Melanchthon cooled him and qualified him by repeating that verse, Vince animos iramque tuam, qui caetera vincis: {b} Master your passions, you that so easily master all things else.
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Than an hundred stripes into a fool.] Hic enim plectitur, sed non flectitur; corripitur, sod non corrigitur: Beaten he is, but not bent to goodness; amerced, but not amended. The cypress, the more it is watered, the more it is withered. Ahaz was the worse for his afflictions; so was the railing thief. Jeroboam’s withered hand works nothing upon his heart. He had herein as great a miracle wrought before him, saith a reverend man, {c} as St Paul had at his conversion, yet was he not wrought upon, because the Spirit did not set it on.
{a} Aναστηθι ηδηποτε δημιε. - {Dio., l. 55. c. 7. s. 2. 6:397}
{b} Joh. Manl., loc. com.
{c} Dr Preston.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Is more effectual for his reformation.
Is more effectual for his reformation.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Note, 1. A word is enough to the wise.…
Note, 1. A word is enough to the wise. A gentle reproof will enter not only into the head, but into the heart of a wise man, so as to have a strong influence upon him; for, if but a hint be given to conscience, let it alone to carry it on and prosecute it. 2. Stripes are not enough for a fool, to make him sensible of his errors, that he may repent of them, and be more cautious for the future. He that is sottish and wilful is very rarely benefited by severity. David is softened with, Thou art the man; but Pharaoh remains hard under all the plagues of Egypt.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain A reproof entereth more into a wise man,.... A…
A reproof entereth more into a wise man,.... A single verbal reproof, gently, kindly, and prudently given, not only enters the ear, but the heart of a wise and understanding man; it descends into him, as the word (k) signifies; it sinks deep into his mind; it penetrates into his heart, and pierces his conscience; brings him easily to humiliation, confession, and reformation. Or, "reproof is more terror to a wise man"; as Jarchi interprets it, and the Tigurine version; it awes and terrifies him more; a single word has more effect upon him, entering more easily into him,
than an hundred stripes into a fool; or, "than smiting a fool a hundred times" (l): a word to a wise man is more than a hundred blows to a fool, will sooner correct and amend him; a word will enter where a blow will not; stripes only reach the back, but not the heart of a fool; he is never the better for all the corrections given him; his heart is not affected, is not humbled, nor brought to a sense of sin, and acknowledgment of it; nor is he in the least reformed: or a single reproof to a wise man is of more service than a hundred reproofs to a fool; which are sometimes expressed by smiting, "let the righteous smite me", &c. Psa 141:5.
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(k) "descendet", Montanus; "descendit", Vatablus, Mercerus, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus. (l) "magis quam si percuties stolidum centies", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, so Pagninus, Michaelis.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 10. A reproof entereth more] Though the rod,…
Verse 10. A reproof entereth more] Though the rod, judiciously applied, is a great instrument of knowledge, yet it is of no use where incurable dulness or want of intellect, prevails. Besides, there are generous dispositions on which counsel will work more than stripes.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 17:10. A reproof entereth more into a wise…
Pro 17:10. A reproof entereth more into a wise man — Penetrates deeper into the mind of an ingenuous person, and produces a greater reformation in him, than a hundred stripes will do for the amendment of an obstinate fool.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain If we should cover transgression, we should not forbear…
If we should cover transgression, we should not forbear reproof. Reproof distinguishes the wise man from the fool. (Pro 13:1 ) A word is enough for the wise. The discipline of stripes is needful for the fool. Parents and tutors should specially study the character of children, that they may temper reproof wisely. Many a fine spirit has been spoiled by unsuitable treatment.
If this be true of man’s reproof, much more of God’s. A word was enough for David.†1 A look entered more into Peter’s heart,†2 than an hundred stripes into Pharaoh,†3 Ahaz,†4 Israel.†5 Stripes only scourge the fool’s back. They never reach his heart. He is therefore a fool still. "Though thou shouldest bray him in a mortar among wheat in a pestle; yet shall not his foolishness depart from him." (Pro 27:22 .)
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What then makes the difference as to the effect of reproof? "The stony heart is taken away, and an heart of flesh is given." (Eze 36:26 .) A needle pierces deeper into flesh, than a sword into stone. A wakeful ear, a tender conscience, a softened heart, a teachable spirit — these are the practical exercises, by which a wise and loving father disciplines his children for his service, for his cross, and for his crown.
Footnotes:
†1 2Sa 12:1-7 ; 2Sa 24:13-14 .
†2 Luk 22:61-62.
†3 Exo 9:34-35.
†4 2Ch 28:22 .
†5 Isa 1:5; Isa 9:13 . Jer 5:3 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Fools. "A word is enough for the wise." Nobilis…
Fools. "A word is enough for the wise." Nobilis equus umbra virgæ regitur, ignavus ne calcari quidem. (Q. Curtius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Reproof more affects the wise than severe scourging, fools.
Reproof more affects the wise than severe scourging, fools.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. A reproof entereth more into a wise man…
10. A reproof entereth more into a wise man — Takes firmer hold of his judgment and conscience, and so affects more his habits of thought and life, and does more to correct any evil, than a hundred stripes into a fool: than “a hundred stripes” would benefit a perverse, wayward, wicked man. The foolishness is moral — opposition to God and his laws.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. more] Rather, deeper, R.V.; as we say, makes…
10. more] Rather, deeper, R.V.; as we say, makes a deeper impression. See Pro_18:8, Pro_26:22. Maurer compares “altius in pectus descendit” (Sall. Jug. 11), “curam in animos descensuram” (Liv. 2. 52); and for the sentiment, “nobilis equus umbra quoque virgæ regitur, ignavus ne calcari quidem concitari potest” (Curt. 7. 4): “a noble steed is ruled even by the shadow of the whip; a sluggish one cannot be roused even by the spur.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain A reproof entereth more (deeper) into a wise man…
A reproof entereth more (deeper) into a wise man than a hundred stripes into a fool. A deserved rebuke makes a deeper impression upon a man of understanding than the severest chastisement upon a fool. Hitzig quotes Sallust, "Jug.," 11, "Verbum in pectus Jugurthae altius, quam quisquam ratus est, descendit." Quint. Curt., 54:7, "Nobilis equus umbra quoque virgae regitur, ignavus ne calcari quidem concitari potest." The antithesis is put more forcibly in the Septuagint, "A threat breaks the heart of a prudent man; a fool even scourged feels it not.
The wisdom of accepting a reproof.
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I IT IS DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT A REPROOF. Only the wise man will take it. Many difficulties stand in the way.
1. It is hard to believe that the reproving counsellor is a true friend. He appears to be censorious. We think he takes a pleasure in finding fault with us. We accuse him of a Pharisaic self-satisfaction in comparing his own virtue with our fault.
2. It is difficult to admit the application of the accusation to ourselves. David is indignant at Nathan"s recital of the parable of the ewe lamb. Yet he fails to see that the moral of it comes home to himself till the prophet exclaims," Thou art the man!
3. It is not easy to confess our own humiliation. When we see that we are accused, pride rises up to defend us. It is possible for a large amount of pride to lodge with a great quantity of folly. Indeed, the more a person is emptied of real worth the more room is there in him for self-inflation.
4. It is troublesome to yield to a reproof. To do so we must not merely admit our fault, but consent to mend our ways. We must allow the reproof to work actively in us if it is to be of any use. The drunkard is often ready to confess his sin, but he is not so eager to renounce the cause of it.
5. It is distressing to bear the reproof of God. In reading the Bible people are tempted to appropriate the promises to themselves and to leave the threatenings for their brethren. It needs a divinely inspired wisdom to help us to profit by the warnings of Scripture.
II IT IS WISE TO ACCEPT A REPROOF. Many as are the obstructions that stand in the way of our receiving and acting upon it, we should do well to conquer them. He is but a foolish person who despises correction. The wise man may shrink from it, but he will not reject it.
1. A true reproof is justly due. We have earned it by our own fault. It is foolish to kick against the consequences of our own conduct.
2. A reproof is a wholesome corrective. It is not a judge"s sentence, but a friend"s counsel, Its object is not condemnation, but salvation.
3. A reproof is a mild substitute for harder treatment. While we foolishly rail at its harshness, we should be thankful for the lenity of the most stern well deserved reproof. It might have been dispensed with, and we might have received condign punishment. The reproof is not so hard to bear as the "hundred stripes" that may follow if it is disregarded. It is wise to close with the earlier counsel.
4. A reproof is an element of Divine grace. Christ sends the Comforter to convict the world of sin as well as of righteousness and judgment. (Joh_16:8) It is to our own cost that we receive this gracious Guest with resentful discourtesy. But, on the other hand, we plainly need Divine grace to accept a reproof in a meek and humble spirit. The wisdom to receive a reproof well is so difficult to attain that we need to seek it as an inspiration from God.
Vers. 10-15. Dark phases of human character.
We may take ver. 10 as an introduction to what follows. Exhortations are to be given, and the preacher would prepare us to receive them. On the sensitive mind the censure of the good makes a deeper impression than a hundred blows on the back of the fool. Sincerity, love of truth and tender sympathy, become the exhorter, and humble docility the object of his warnings or rebukes. "Let the righteous smite me, and it shall be a kindness". (Psa_141:5)
I THE CONTENTIOUS SPIRIT. (Ver. 11)
1. His temper. He seeks rebellion. In private life he may be the man who revolts from the established usages of society, delights in singularity for its own sake, in defying opinion, showing disrespect to names of authority. In public life he may become the heartless demagogue and pest of the commonwealth.
2. His doom. A cruel angel shall be sent against him by God; that is, generally, his offence will be visited upon him severely. The curse upon the contentious spirit is the counterpart of the great evangelical blessing on the peacemakers, who shall be called "the children of God.
3. His dangerous qualities. (Ver. 12) Rage is the principle of his action, the motive of his life. To irritate him, to thwart him, is like bringing on one"s self the fierce attack of the bear robbed of her whelps. Rage united with intelligence is the most fearful combination of deadly force known in the world. From so dread a picture we turn with the prayer, "From hatred and malice, good Lord, deliver us!" "Oh, may we live the peaceful life!
II THE UNGRATEFUL MAN. (Ver. 13)
1. His conduct. He requites good with evil. As there is no virtue so natural, so spontaneous, so pleasurable, as gratitude, so there is no mere negative vice so odious as ingratitude. But the positive reversal of gratitude in returning evil for good for this there is no one word in our (nor probably in any) language. It is a wickedness indeed unutterable.
2. His doom is punishment from God. And the severity of the punishment teaches by contrast how dear is gratitude to God. As evil shall ever haunt the house of the dark rebel against light and love, so shall joy and peace attend the steps of the peaceful child of God.
III THE CONSEQUENCES OF MISCHIEF INCALCULABLE. (Ver. 14) A homely figure impresses the truth in a way not to be forgotten. Similarly, James compares the progress of mischief to the sparks which may be easily fanned into a great conflagration. (Jam_3:5) How great the service that may be rendered by those who, in the interests of peace, at once trample out the sparks or seal up the avenues of the flood. These rules are good for the avoidance of strife. Consider:
1. Whether the dispute is not about. words rather than things.
2. Whether we really understand, the subject.
3. Whether it is worth disputing about.
IV MORAL INDIFFERENCE. (Ver. 15) To speak the bad man fair, to justify or excuse his evil, and to censure or criticize or condemn the good, from prudence or other motive, this shows a blindness to moral distinctions, a wilful insensibility which is incompatible with religion, and incurs the deep disapproval and judgment of Jehovah. We have examples in Ezr_4:1-16 Act_24:1-9. Religion teaches us to distinguish between things that differ; if we have not learnt that lesson, we have learned nothing. If, having learned it, we disregard it, our profession of religion becomes converted into a hypocrisy and an abomination. J.
Vers. 16-20. Light in the head, love in the heart.
I MONEY USELESS WITHOUT SENSE. (Ver. 16) The true view of money is that of means to ends. But if the ends are not seen, or, being seen, are not earnestly desired, of what avail the means? If our heart be set upon the right objects of life, opportunities will always present themselves. If blind to life"s meaning, no advantages wilt seem to be advantages.
II THE BEAUTY OF FRIENDSHIP. (Ver. 17)
1. In general. It is constant; it is unvarying; it is adapted to all the various states and vicissitudes of life.
2. In particular. It takes new life out of sorrow. In distress, the friend is developed into the "brother," and is taken close to the heart. True friendship gladdens at the opportunity of self-devotion for the beloved one"s good. It is the distress of our sin which makes us acquainted with him "that sticketh closer than a brother." But thank God for all those who are newborn to us in the freshly revealed grace and goodness of their hearts amidst the scenes of suffering.
III THE STRICT DUTY OF CAUTION IN REFERENCE TO RESPONSIBILITY. (Ver. 18) The consequences of becoming bail for a defaulter were in ancient life very terrible. Nowadays there are prudent men who will never set their hand to an acceptance. Although all moral duties are not equally amiable in their aspect, it must be remembered that the ability to do good to others rests upon strict prudence with reference to one s self. We may be maimed or destroyed by imprudence.
IV RESISTANCE TO THE BEGINNINGS OF EVIL. (Ver. 19) Contention or tempers and passion in general leads on to graver sin. Open the way to one sin, and others will immediately troop forward in its rear. Again, contentiousness and pride are in close connection; the latter is generally the spring of the former. And both are ruinous in their tendency. High towers invite the lightning; but he that does not soar too loftily will suffer the less by a fall. A modest way of life, within our means, is the only truly Christian life.
V THE TRUE HEART AND THE GUILELESS TONGUE. (Ver. 20) There is no health, no salvation for self or others, in the false heart and the tongue that flickers and wavers between opposing impulses. Old Homer has the sentiment that he who speaks one thing and thinks another in his heart is hateful as the gates of hell.
1. There is no true light in the head without love in the heart.
2. There is no dualism in our moral character.
3. There is a correspondence between our outward lot and our inward choice. J.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain A reproof entereth more into a wise man than…
Pro_17:10
A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
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Moral and corporeal chastisement
I. The one in its sphere is as legitimate as the other. Look at the sphere of each.
1. The sphere of the moral. It is for the wise. The reproof is for men open to reason and impression--men whose natures are susceptible to moral arguments and appeals.
2. The sphere of the corporeal. It is for fools. Of what service is an argument to an ox, or a whip to a soul?
II. The one in its sphere is more thorough than the other. A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
1. The one is more painful than the other. What is pain arising from a few lashes on the body compared to the pain arising in the soul from a conviction of moral wrong? What pain did reproof give David! (Psa_51:1-19.). What agony did the reproving look of Christ give Peter!
2. The one is more corrective than the other. Corporeal chastisement will never do the fool any moral good. You cannot whip the moral devil out of men (Pro_27:22). But moral chastisements correct the wrongs of the soul. The fires of moral conviction separate the gold from the dross. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_17:10
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_17:10
CORRECTION MUST BE ADAPTED TO THE CHARACTER OF THE OFFENDER
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I. Some men can be influenced by moral means. A man whose moral nature is developed can be brought to a sense of error by an appeal to his own sense of right and wrong. Although he has fallen into sin he does not love it, and the rebuke from without finds an echo in the monitor within his own breast. His susceptibility to reproof arises—
1. From a deep sense of hit obligations to God. He knows what God has done to put away sin and its effects from the universe, and gratitude to Him opens his ear and his heart to reproof.
2. From a sense of his own true interest. A man would be counted a fool if he were to be angry with the physician who desired to free him from the dominion of a bodily disease, and a morally wise man is too keenly alive to the worth of his own soul not to listen to a wise reproof.
II. But there are men who can only be aroused to a sense of wrong-doing by physical suffering. Such men, by a long course of crime or by a constant resistance of moral influences, have sunk almost to the level of the brute. They are like the horse and mule which have no understanding, whose mouth must be held with bit and bridle (Psa_32:9). Nothing can awaken their sleeping consciences but severe and startling judgments or bodily chastisement, and even these “stripes” may fail to bring them to a right state of mind. Let men, then, beware, lest being often reproved and hardening themselves against it (ch. Pro_29:1), they become so callous to the words of God and good men, or to the visitations of Providence, as to be “past feeling.” (Eph_4:19).
ILLUSTRATION
It was a maxim of Bishop Griswold—“when censured or accused, to correct—not to justify my error.” A certain minister, with more zeal than discretion, once became impressed with the thought that the bishop was a mere formalist in religion, and that it was his duty to go and warn him of his danger. Accordingly he called upon the bishop, very solemnly made known his errand, and forthwith entered upon his reproof. The bishop listened in silence till his visitor had closed a severely denunciatory exhortation, and then in substance replied as follows:—“My dear friend, I do not wonder that they who witness the inconsistency of my conduct, and see how poorly I adorn the doctrine of God my Saviour, should think I have no religion. I often fear for myself that such is the case, and feel very grateful to you for giving me the warning.” The reply was made with such evidently unaffected humility, and with such deep sincerity, that if an audible voice from heaven had attested the genuineness of his Christian character it could not more effectually have silenced his kindly intending but mis-judging censor, or more completely disabused him of his false impressions.—Episcopal Record.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Fools have sometimes received correction and made a good use of it, but they were fools no longer, for the rod and reproof gave them wisdom; but it is a sign that folly is deeply ingrained when an hundred rods leave men as great fools as they found them.—Lawson.
A look from Christ brake Peter’s heart and dissolved it into tears.… But Jeroboam’s withered hand works nothing upon his heart.—Trapp.
The folly of simplicity is a softness of nature; the folly of sin is a hardness of heart; the folly of conceit is a stiffness of will, and little doth a rod enter into any of them. For though the first be soft, it is hard to work upon it, although it be with hard and many strokes of the stick. The woolliness of the sheep’s skin keeps back the force of the beating rod … The rock in the wilderness first denied water to the Israelites, as, withstanding nature’s force and the first stroke of Moses, it resisted as opposing the infidelity of sin, to the second stroke it yielded as submitting to God’s power. But it is not the power of God’s rod that enters into a fool.—Jermin.
A needle pierces deeper into flesh than a sword into stone.—Bridges.
David is softened with Thou art the man; but Pharaoh remains hardened under all the plagues of Egypt.—Henry.
Even amongst the children of God themselves there are great diversities of temper; some requiring harder dealing than others to bring them down, and to reclaim them from their follies, as is the case often with children in the same family. A word, or a look, will go with melting and heartbreaking power to the very soul of one, while the severest correction, and oft-repeated, will fail to bring down the stubborn and fractious spirit of another. O for more of the spirit of Job and less of the spirit of Jonah!—for more of that truly child-like disposition which gives way before every divine admonition, which melts into penitence under the eye of an offended God, and looks up with a child’s submission at the slightest touch of His corrective rod! Wardlaw.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain v. 10. A reproof entereth more into a wise…
v. 10. A reproof entereth more into a wise man, makes a deeper and more lasting impression, has better consequences, than an hundred stripes into a fool, for the fool is callous and cannot be influenced.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 17:10 The wise will listen to a mild rebuke…
17:10 The wise will listen to a mild rebuke and act on good advice. Even harsh correction (a hundred lashes) will not change a fool.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.