Discovery BoxProverbs 13:13 
Context13:13 The one who despises instruction 1 will pay the penalty, 2
but whoever esteems instruction 3 will 4 be rewarded. 5
Proverbs 14:21
Context14:21 The one who despises his neighbor sins,
but whoever is kind to the needy is blessed.
Proverbs 15:20
Context15:20 A wise child 6 brings joy to his father,
but a foolish person 7 despises 8 his mother.
Proverbs 15:32
Context15:32 The one who refuses correction despises himself, 9
but whoever hears 10 reproof acquires understanding. 11
Proverbs 19:16
Context1 tn Heb “the word.” The term “word” means teaching in general; its parallel “command” indicates that it is the more forceful instruction that is meant. Both of these terms are used for scripture.
2 tc The MT reads יֵחָבֶל (yekhavel, “he will pay [for it]”; cf. NAB, NIV) but the BHS editors suggest revocalizing the text to יְחֻבָּל (yÿkhubal, “he will be broken [for it]”; cf. NRSV “bring destruction on themselves”).
tn Heb “will be pledged to it.” The Niphal of I חָבַל (khaval) “to pledge” means “to be under pledge to pay the penalty” (BDB 286 s.v. Niph). Whoever despises teaching will be treated as a debtor – he will pay for it if he offends against the law.
3 tn Heb “fears a commandment”; NIV “respects a command.”
4 tn Heb “he” or “that one” [will be rewarded].
5 tc The LXX adds: “A crafty son will have no good thing, but the affairs of a wise servant will be prosperous; and his path will be directed rightly.”
6 tn Heb “son.”
7 tn Heb “a fool of a man,” a genitive of specification.
8 sn The proverb is almost the same as 10:1, except that “despises” replaces “grief.” This adds the idea of the callousness of the one who inflicts grief on his mother (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 116).
9 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.
10 tn Or “heeds” (so NAB, NIV); NASB “listens to.”
11 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.
12 tn The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) is repeated twice in this line but with two different senses, creating a polysemantic wordplay: “he who obeys/keeps (ֹֹשׁמֵר, shomer) the commandment safeguards/keeps (שֹׁמֵר, shomer) his life.”
13 sn The expression his ways could refer either (1) to the conduct of the individual himself, or (2) to the commandments as the
14 tc The Kethib is יָוְמֻת (yavmut), “will be put to death,” while the Qere reads יָמוּת (yamut, “will die”). The Qere is the preferred reading and is followed by most English versions.
