Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 29:9

[If] a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, [there is] no rest.

9. whether he rage &c.] This makes the fool the subject, as is more clearly brought out in R.V. marg., He rageth and laugheth and there is no rest. In R.V. text, however, the wise man is made the subject, whether he be angry or laugh, whether he seeks to bring the controversy to an end by severity or by banter, he will fail. There is no coming to terms with a fool, either by threats or by persuasion.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

All modes of teaching – the stern rebuke or the smiling speech – are alike useless with the foolish man; there is no rest. The ceaseless cavilling goes on still.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 9. Whether he rage or laugh] Coverdale translates, “Yf a wyse man go to lawe with a foole, whether he deale with him frendly or roughly he geteth no rest.”

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man; either judicially or otherwise debating any matter with him, endeavouring to convince him of any error;

whether he, the wise man, rageth (or is angry) or laugheth, i.e. whether he deal sharply and severely with him, rebuking him for his folly, or mildly and pleasantly smiling at it,

there is no rest, no end or fruit of the debate, the fool will not be satisfied nor convinced. Or, as it is in the Hebrew, he (to wit, the fool last named, to whom the following carriages may seem more fitly to agree) both rageth and laugheth, (he will not yield nor be convinced, but persists in his folly, which he discovers sometimes by his furious and unbridled passions, and sometimes by foolish laughter and scorning,) and there

is no rest; he will never be quieted.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

9. contendeththat is, in law.

whether . . . laughThefool, whether angry or good-humored, is unsettled; or referring thewords to the wise man, the sense is, that all his efforts, severe orgentle, are unavailing to pacify the fool.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

[If] a wise man contendeth with a foolish man,…. Enters into a controversy with him, either by word or writing, in order to convince him of his folly and wickedness, of his errors and mistakes;

whether he rage or laugh, [there is] no rest; that is, either whether the fool is angry with the wise man, and rages at him and abuses him, and calls him names, or laughs at him, and scoffs at all his arguments, reasons, and advice; yet the wise man does not cease from proceeding in the contest with him; or he is not dejected and cast down, and discouraged; or, as the Targum is,

“he is not broken;”

but patiently bears his wrath fury, his scoffs and jeers: or else whether the wise man deals roughly or gently with the feel, in a morose or in a mere jocose way: it has no upon him; he is never the better for it; he does not acquiesce or rest in what he says like the Pharisees in Christ’s time, who are compared to surly children: who, when “piped to, danced not”; and, when “mourned to, lamented not”,

[See comments on Mt 11:16], and

[See comments on Mt 11:17]. The design of the proverb is to show, that all labour to reclaim a fool from his folly is lost, let a man take what methods he will, Pr 27:22.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

9 If a wise man has to contend with a fool,

He the fool rageth and laugheth, and hath no rest.

Among the old translators, Jerome and Luther take the “wise man” as subject even of the second line, and that in all its three members: vir sapiens si cum stulto contenderit, sive irascatur sive reideat, non inveniet requiem . Thus Schultens, C. B. Michaelis, Umbreit, Ewald, Elster, and also Fleischer: “The doubled Vav is correlative, as at Exo 21:16; Lev 5:3, and expresses the perfect sameness in respect of the effect, here of the want of effect. If the wise man, when he disputes with a fool, becomes angry, or jests, he will have no rest, i.e., he will never bring it to pass that the fool shall cease to reply; he yields the right to him, and thus makes it possible for him to end the strife.” But the angry passion, and the bursts of laughter alternating therewith, are not appropriate to the wise man affirming his right; and since, after Ecc 9:17, the words of the wise are heard , the [and there is no rest] will cause us to think of the fool as the logical subject. So far correctly, but in other respects inappropriately, the lxx (after the expression , i.e., , instead of ), (which does not mean) (as if the words were ).

(Note: According to this the Targum (he remains obstinate), according to which the (he does not lose his wits) of the Peshito is perhaps to be corrected. The distribution of the subjects is obscure.)

The syntactical relation would be simpler if in 9a were vocalized as a hypothetical perfect. But we read for it the past . Ewald designates 9a as a conditional clause, and Hitzig remarks that the Lat. viro sapiente disceptante cum stulto corresponds therewith. It marks, like 1Sa 2:13; Job 1:16, the situation from which there is a departure then with perf. consec.: if a wise man in the right is in contact with a fool, he starts up, and laughs, and keeps not quiet (supply as at Pro 28:27), or (without ): there is no keeping quiet, there is no rest. The figure is in accordance with experience. If a wise man has any controversy with a fool, which is to be decided by reasonable and moral arguments, then he becomes boisterous and laughs, and shows himself incapable of quietly listening to his opponent, and of appreciating his arguments.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

      9 If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.

      A wise man is here advised not to set his wit to a fool’s, not to dispute with him, or by contending with him to think either of fastening reason upon him or gaining right from him: If a wise man contend with a wise man, he may hope to be understood, and, as far as he has reason and equity on his side, to carry his point, at least to bring the controversy to a head and make it issue amicably; but, if he contend with a foolish man, there is no rest; he will see no end of it, nor will he have any satisfaction in it, but must expect to be always uneasy. 1. Whether the foolish man he contends with rage or laugh, whether he take angrily or scornfully what is said to him, whether he rail at it or mock at it, one of the two he will do, and so there will be no rest. However it is given, it will be ill-taken, and the wisest man must expect to be either scolded or ridiculed if he contend with a fool. He that fights with a dunghill, whether he be conqueror or conquered, is sure to be defiled. 2. Whether the wise man himself rage or laugh, whether he take the serious or the jocular way of dealing with the fool, whether he be severe or pleasant with him, whether he come with a rod or with the spirit of meekness (1 Cor. iv. 21), it is all alike, no good is done. We have piped unto you, and you have not danced, mourned unto you, and you have not lamented.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary