As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.
Parallel Translations
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As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.
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As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
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As an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Proverbs 25:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 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 15:31-32 The ear that listens to reproof lives, and will be at home among the wise. He who refuses correction despises his own soul, but he who listens to reproof gets understanding.
- Proverbs 9:8 Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise person, and he will love you.
- Proverbs 15:5 A fool despises his father’s correction, but he who heeds reproof shows prudence.
- Proverbs 27:5-6 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. The wounds of a friend are faithful, although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
- 1 Samuel 25:31-34 that this shall be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. When Yahweh has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.” David said to Abigail, “Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me! Blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, who have kept me today from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand. For indeed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there wouldn’t have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.”
- Job 42:11 Then came there to him all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who had been of his acquaintance before, and ate bread with him in his house. They comforted him, and consoled him concerning all the evil that Yahweh had brought on him. Everyone also gave him a piece of money, and everyone a ring of gold.
- Proverbs 1:8-9 My son, listen to your father’s instruction, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching: for they will be a garland to grace your head, and chains around your neck.
- Proverbs 20:12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, Yahweh has made even both of them.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 25:12 [As] an earring of gold, and an…
Pro 25:12 [As] an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, [so is] a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
Ver. 12. As an earring of gold, &c.] Ut in auris aurea, &c. A seasonable word falling upon a tractable ear hath a redoubled grace with it, as an earring of gold, and as an ornament of fine gold, or as a diamond in a diadem. It is a hard and happy thing to "suffer the words of exhortation," to digest a reproof; to say with David, "Let the righteous smite me," &c.; to be of Gerson’s disposition, of whom it is recorded that he rejoiced in nothing more, quam si ab aliquo fraterne et charitative redargueretur, {a} than if he were friendly and freely reproved by anyone. Every vice doth now go armed; touch it never so gently, yet like the nettle it will sting you. If you deal with it roughly and roundly it swaggereth, as the Hebrew did with Moses, "Who made thee a man of authority?" &c. {Exo 2:14} Earrings and ornaments are ill bestowed upon such uncircumcised ears.
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{a} In vita Jo. Gers.
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 As an earring of gold, and an ornament of…
As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold; highly acceptable, and a great ornament, and not an offence and dishonour, as fools esteem it;
so is a wise reprover, that reproves an offender faithfully; yet prudently, in the fittest manner and season.
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Upon an obedient ear; to a man that hearkens to it, and is instructed and reformed by it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain As an earring of gold, and an ornament of…
As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold,.... As a golden earring, when first put on, gives pain and uneasiness; but, being well hung and fixed, is very ornamental, being of fine gold, and especially when any jewels are upon it; which may be meant by the ornament, as the word is rendered, Sol 7:1;
so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear; such is the reproof of a wise man, which is seasonably given, in a fit and proper manner; and which appears to proceed from love, and is designed for good, and done in great affection and faithfulness: this, though it may be a little grating to the ear at first, yet, when well considered and received, instead of leaving any infamy or reproach on the person reproved, it is an ornament to him, as well as reflects honour upon the reprover. It may be rendered, "so is he that reproveth a wise man, upon" or "with an obedient ear" (g); a wise man that has an obedient or hearing ear, who is so wise as to altered to reproofs given him, and which he takes kindly, and receives profit and advantage from them; see Pro 9:8.
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(g) "qui arguit sapientem", V. L. Pagninus, Mercerus, Gejerus.
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 12. As an ear-ring of gold] I believe…
Verse 12. As an ear-ring of gold] I believe נזם nezem to mean the nose-ring with its pendants; the left nostril is pierced, and a ring put through it, as in the ear. This is very common in almost every part of the East, among women of condition. This is a farther illustration of the above metaphor.
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 25:12. As an ear-ring of gold, &c. —…
Pro 25:12. As an ear-ring of gold, &c. — That is, highly acceptable, and a great ornament, and not an offence and dishonour, as fools think it; is a wise reprover — One who reproves an offender faithfully, and yet prudently, in the fittest manner and season; upon an obedient ear — To the man that hearkens to the reproof, and is instructed and reformed by it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The theme of this proverb being the same as…
The theme of this proverb being the same as that of Pro 25:11, its occurrence suggests the thought that rings used as ornaments for ears, or nose, or forehead, and other trinkets formed part of the works of art spoken of in the foregoing note, and that the king had something at once pointed and wise to say of each of them.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Bright. Hebrew chali cathem, "an ornament of fine gold,"…
Bright. Hebrew chali cathem, "an ornament of fine gold," (Montanus; Protestants; Haydock) may probably denote a collar or ring. The eastern nations wore rings fixed at the top of the ears, and under the nose. Some were so large that they put their meat through them. The Scripture often alludes to these customs, which are so different from ours. (Canticle of Canticles vii. 1.)
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 Those who desire to know and do rightly, most…
Those who desire to know and do rightly, most highly esteem good counsel (Pro 9:9; Pro 15:31). The listening ear is better than one hung with gold.
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 12. As an earring — The original means either…
12. As an earring — The original means either an earring or a nose-ring. The Orientals are as fond of rings in their nostrils as our modern ladies of rings in their ears.
An ornament of fine gold — A necklace or collar “of fine gold.” An ear attentive to instruction is better than one ornamented with gold rings.
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 12. earring] Or, nose-ring, R.V. marg. See Pro_11:22, note.
12. earring] Or, nose-ring, R.V. marg. See Pro_11:22, note.
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 Another distich concerning the seasonable word, of the same…
Another distich concerning the seasonable word, of the same character as the last. As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold. In this, as in many of the proverbs, the comparison is not expressed, but is merely implied by juxtaposition. Nezem, in Pro_11:22, was a nose ring, here probably an earring is meant; chali, "ornament," is a trinket or jewel worn suspended on neck or breast. The two, whether worn by one person or more, form a lovely combination, and set off the wearer"s grace and beauty. Vulgate, Inauris aurea et margaritum fulgens, "A golden earring and a brilliant pearl." Septuagint, "A golden earring a precious sardius also is set." So is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. The obedient ear receives the precepts of the wise reprover, and wears them as a valued ornament. In Pro_1:9 the instruction of parents is compared to a chaplet on the head and a fair chain on the neck. Septuagint, "A wise word on an obedient ear."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Pro_25:12. An obedient ear. Literally “an ear that heareth.”
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_25:12. An obedient ear. Literally “an ear that heareth.”
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Pro_25:13. The cold of snow, etc. “The coolness of snow is not that of a fall of snow, which in the time of harvest would be a calamity, but of drink cooled with snow, which was brought from Lebanon, or elsewhere, from the clefts of the rocks; the peasants of Damascus store up the winter’s snow in a cleft of the mountain, and convey it in the warm months to Damascus and the coast towns.” (Delitzsch.)
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_25:12
GIVING AND TAKING
I. To give reproof effectually needs—
1. A character which deserves respect. An iron pin when cold may by the exercise of much strength and the expenditure of much time be driven through a plate of iron, but if it be red hot, it goes through it with speed and ease. A blunt axe may fell a tree, but if it has a good edge the work is done far more quickly and effectually. So a very faulty man may obtain a hearing when he reproves, and his reproofs may do good, but the same reproof from the lips of one who possesses a high moral character will be far more likely to reach the conscience of the listener and lead him to repentance.
2. A knowledge of the character and disposition of him whom he reproves. It is indispensable that the physician who ministers a powerful drug to a patient, or who subjects him to a critical operation, should first know something about his bodily constitution, should ascertain if there is tendency to disease which his treatment might strengthen, or exceptional weakness of any organ which would make it unable to bear the strain he is about to put upon it. If he do not make some preliminary investigation on these matters he may be developing an evil as great as the one he seeks to eradicate. A reprover should remember that all men are not alike in their temperament and moral development, and that consequently what would do real good to one transgressor would only harden another, and that, therefore, there must be acquaintance with the patient before the medicine is administered.
3. A sincere desire to benefit the offender. He who reproves without a real feeling of pity and a wish to help him whom he reproves will find that his words will do about as much good as water does to a rock when it falls upon it. It may drop day and night for years, but the rock is rock still—no moisture penetrates it and no verdure clothes it. So reproof that is not dictated by love will never reach the heart, and no fruits of repentance will result from fault-finding for its own sake.
4. A due regard to a fitting time and place. He must not rebuke his child when he is suffering pain, or charge home a fault upon the father of a family before his children. We are not likely to reform a drunkard by upbraiding him when he is under the influence of drink, or to convince a proud man that he is wrong by putting him to shame before others. A wise reprover will not only see to it that his medicine is suited to his patient, but will consider when it is most fitting to administer it.
II. To take reproof meekly—
1. Reveals a man under the control of reason. It is only the delirious patient or the child who angrily resists the surgeon’s knife, and looks no further than the present pain. A reasonable man may cry out under the operation, but he knows that his future health depends upon it, and he therefore submits patiently, although he suffers acutely. If a man looks at reproof in the same light, he will receive it in the same spirit, and give a convincing proof that he is not ruled by passion but by reason.
2. Reveals a man governed by true self-love. Love for our own true interests prompts us to welcome every hand stretched out to help us, and every means afforded us of becoming better and wiser. A wise reprover is a true friend, and he who does not recognise him as such shows that his own advancement is not the aim of his life and the object of his desire. But no greater proof of a sincere regard for our own moral and spiritual growth can be given than that of lending an obedient ear to a wise reproof.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
The wise reprover or instructor, who lovingly and seasonably telleth his neighbour of his fault or duty, may fitly be likened unto a jewel of pearl; for he lighteneth and enricheth him that is instructed with knowledge and the gifts of God’s Holy Spirit. The attentive and obedient hearer who desires to increase in learning, and who receiveth the word of God with meekness, may also be aptly resembled to a golden earring; for he is transformed from glory to glory, by the ministry and instruction of the prudent and learned teacher.—Muffett.
When a reproof is both administered in wisdom and received in humility and in good part,—then there is a union of two equal rarities. A reproof well-administered is rare; and not less so is a reproof well taken. We may remark, however, that the rareness of the latter arises, to no small extent, out of the rareness of the former. It is because reproof is so seldom wellgiven, that it is so seldon well-taken.—Wardlaw.
An earring is fastened to the ear, and that it may be fastened, it pierceth the ear, and being so fastened, it is an ornament to the whole face; so like-wise is a reproof upon an obedient ear. First, it pierceth it, and is received willingly into it; secondly, it is fastened upon it, so that it stays with it; thirdly, it is an ornament to his whole life, which is thereby reformed.—Jermin.
For Homiletics on the subject of Pro_25:13, see on chap. Pro_13:17, page 321.
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.