Amsal 13:18

13:18 The one who neglects ¹  discipline ends up in ²  poverty and shame,

but the one who accepts reproof is honored. ³ 

Amsal 15:31-32

15:31 The person ⁴  who hears the reproof that leads to life ⁵ 

is at home ⁶  among the wise. ⁷ 

15:32 The one who refuses correction despises himself, ⁸ 

but whoever hears ⁹  reproof acquires understanding. ¹⁰ 

[13:18]  ¹ tn The verb III פָּרַע (para’) normally means “to let go; to let alone” and here “to neglect; to avoid; to reject” (BDB 828 s.v.).

[13:18]  ² tn The phrase “ends up in” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[13:18]  ³ sn Honor and success are contrasted with poverty and shame; the key to enjoying the one and escaping the other is discipline and correction. W. McKane, Proverbs (OTL), 456, notes that it is a difference between a man of weight (power and wealth, from the idea of “heavy” for “honor”) and the man of straw (lowly esteemed and poor).

[15:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “ear” (so KJV, NRSV). The term “ear” is a synecdoche of part (= ear) for the whole (= person).

[15:31]  ⁵ tn “Life” is an objective genitive: Reproof brings or preserves life. Cf. NIV “life-giving rebuke”; NLT “constructive criticism.”

[15:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “lodges.” This means to live with, to be at home with.

[15:31]  ⁷ sn The proverb is one full sentence; it affirms that a teachable person is among the wise.

[15:32]  ⁸ sn To “despise oneself” means to reject oneself as if there was little value. The one who ignores discipline is not interested in improving himself.

[15:32]  ⁹ tn Or “heeds” (so NAB, NIV); NASB “listens to.”

[15:32]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text reads קוֹנֶה לֵּב (qoneh lev), the participle of קָנָה (qanah, “to acquire; to possess”) with its object, “heart.” The word “heart” is frequently a metonymy of subject, meaning all the capacities of the human spirit and/or mind. Here it refers to the ability to make judgments or discernment.