Proverbs 9:8

Do not reprove ¹  a mocker or ²  he will hate you; reprove a wise person and he will love you.

Le 19:17; Nu 14:6-10; 2Sa 12:7-14; 1Ki 1:23,32; 1Ki 22:8; Ps 141:5; Pr 13:18; Pr 23:9; Pr 28:23; Pr 29:1; Mt 7:6; Mt 15:14; Ga 2:11-14; Heb 6:4-8; 2Pe 3:15,16

¹ tn In view of the expected response for reproof, the text now uses a negated jussive to advise against the attempt. This is paralleled antithetically by the imperative in the second colon. This imperative is in an understood conditional clause: “if you reprove a wise person.”

² tn Heb “lest he hate you.” The particle פֶּן (pen, “lest”) expresses fear or precaution (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 79, §476). The antonyms “love” and “hate” suggest that the latter means “reject” and the former means “choosing and embracing.”