a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
despise
תִּמְאָ֑סtim.'As
H3988
to spurn · verb, qal jussive, 2nd person masculine singular
chastening
מוּסַ֣רmu.Sar
H4148
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְ֭הוָהYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
weary
תָּ֝קֹ֗ץta.Kotz
H6973
to be (causatively · verb, qal jussive, 2nd person masculine singular
correction
בְּתוֹכַחְתּֽוֹbe.to.khach.To
H8433
chastisement · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Job 5:17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Hebrews 12:5-12 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor fai…
Psalms 94:12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
Isaiah 40:30-31 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
1 Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 3:7-12
We have here before us three exhortations, each of them enforced with a good reason: -
I. We must live in a humble and dutiful subjection to God and his government (Pro 3:7): "Fear the Lord, as your sovereign Lord and Master; be ruled in every thing by your religion and subject to the divine will." This must be, 1. A humble subjection: Be not wise in thy own eyes. Note, There is not a greater enemy to the power of religion, and the fear of God in the heart, than conceitedness of our own wisdom. Those that have an opinion of their own sufficiency think it below them, and a disparagement to them, to take their measures from, much more to hamper themselves with, religion's rules. 2. A dutiful…
The true intent of afflictions considered; they do not contradict the assertion of the blessed state of the pious (Job 5:17; Heb 12:5-6).
John Gill on Proverbs 3:11
My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord,.... This seems to be introduced to prevent an objection that may be made to the above promise of plenty; seeing the children of God are often afflicted in this world; even the wise and pious, and those that fear the Lord, and honour him; which is accounted for, and the reason of it given, in Proverbs 3:12. These words are cited in Hebrews 12:5, and are represented as an exhortation, spoken unto children, the children of God; by which it appears, that not any single person is meant by "my son"; and, as not here, so neither elsewhere in this book, where the same phrase is used. It is not to be limited to any son of Solomon's according to the fles…
The contrast here follows. As God should not be forgotten in days of prosperity, so one should not suffer himself to be estranged from Him by days of adversity.
11 The school of Jahve, my son, despise thou not,
Nor loathe thou His correction;
12 For Jahve correcteth him whom He loveth,
And that as a father his son whom he loveth
Vid., the original passage Job 5:17. There is not for the Book of Job a more suitable motto than this tetrastich, which expresses its fundamental thought, that there is a being chastened and tried by suffering which has as its motive the love of God, and which does not exclude sonship.
(Note: Here Procop. rightly distinguishes between παιδεία and τιμωρία.)
One may…
The Church Fathers
My son, do not despise the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary of his correction, etc. There are those who serve the Lord in prosperity, but go astray in adversity. Thus, wisdom teaches those who live well in prosperity, also to exhort them not to faint in correction, so that when weakness or poverty or human persecution comes, they do not lose the piety they seemed to preserve in tranquility.
And He uses the bitter and biting language of reproof in His consolations by Solomon, tacitly alluding to the love for children that characterizes His instruction: "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord; nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth;" "For a man who is a sinner escapes reproof." Consequently, therefore, the Scripture says, "Let the righteous reprove and correct me; but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head."
[Syncletica] also said, 'When the devil does not use the goad of poverty to tempt us, he uses wealth for the same purpose. When he cannot win by scorn and mockery, he tries praise and flattery. If he cannot win by giving health, he tries illness. If he cannot win by comfort, he tries to ruin the soul by vexations that lead us to act against our monastic vows. He inflicts severe sicknesses on people whom he wants to tempt and so makes them weak, and thereby shakes the love they feel towards God. But although the body is shattered and running a high temperature and thirsting unbearably, yet you, who endure all this, are a sinner; you should therefore remember the punishments of the next world, the everlasting fire, the torments of judgement. Then you will not fail in the sufferings of this present time, indeed you should rejoice because God has visited you. Keep saying the famous text: "The Lord hath chastened and corrected me: but he hath not given me over unto death" (Ps. 118:18). Iron is cleaned of rust by fire. If you are righteous and suffer, you grow to a higher sanctity. Gold is tested by fire. When a messenger from Satan is given to you to be a thorn in your flesh, lift up your heart, for you have received a gift like that of St Paul. If you suffer from fever and cold, remember the text of Scripture, "We went through fire and water," and "thou broughtest us out into a place of rest" (Ps. 66:12). If you have overcome suffering, you may expect rest, provided you are following what is good. Cry aloud the prophet's words, "I am poor and destitute and in misery" (Ps. 66:29). Threefold suffering like this shall make you perfect. He said also, "Thou hast set me at liberty when I was in trouble" (Ps. 4:1). So let this kind of self-discipline test our souls, for our enemy is always in sight.'
Dictionary and topics
Proverbs, Book of — A collection of moral and philosophical maxims of a wide range of subjects presented in a poetic form. This book sets forth the “philosophy of practical life. It is the sign to us that the Bible does…
Adoption · Subjects saints to the fatherly discipline of God — Subjects saints to the fatherly discipline of God
Afflicted Saints · Should not despise chastening — Should not despise chastening
Chastisement · FROM GOD — FROM GOD
Resignation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Young Men · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The Lord’s discipline can take the form of hardships, disappointments, and frustrations (see Heb 12:4-6). Like a good father, God’s purpose is to make us wise, good, and happy.
Rashi on Proverbs 3:11
My son, despise not the discipline of the Lord Should pains come upon you, they should be dear to you.
and do not abhor Heb. תקץ, from the expression of (Gen. 27:46) “I abhor (קצתי) my life.”
