Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 9:12
If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but [if] thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear [it].
12. shalt be ] Rather, art. R.V.
The LXX. version of this verse is interesting, and represents perhaps a fuller Hebrew text:
“My son, if thou be wise to thyself, thou shalt be wise to thy neighbours also;
But if thou turn out evil, thou alone shalt bear (lit. drain) the evil.
Whoso stayeth himself upon lies, he tendeth the winds;
And he will follow after birds on the wing.
For he hath forsaken the ways of his vineyard, and gone astray in the paths of his field;
For he walketh through a desert without water, and over a land that is set in thirsty places;
And with his hands he gathereth that which is without fruit.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The great law of personal retribution (compare Mat 7:2). The Septuagint makes a curious addition to this verse, My son, if thou wilt be wise for thyself, thou shalt be wise also for thy neighbors; but if thou turn out evil, thou alone shalt bear evil. He who resteth on lies shall guide the winds, and the same shall hunt after winged birds, for he hath left the ways of his own vineyard, and has gone astray with the wheels of his own husbandry. He goeth through a wilderness without water, and over a land set in thirsty places, and with his hands he gathereth barrenness.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. If thou be wise] It is thy own interest to be religious. Though thy example may be very useful to thy neighbours and friends, yet the chief benefit is to thyself. But if thou scorn – refuse to receive – the doctrines of wisdom, and die in thy sins, thou alone shalt suffer the vengeance of an offended God.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thou shalt be wise for thyself; thou dost not profit me, but thyself by it; I advise thee for thine own good.
Thou alone shalt bear it; the blame and mischief of it falls wholly upon thee, not upon me, or my word, or ministers who have warned thee.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. You are mainly concerned inyour own conduct.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself,…. He is wise that harkens to Wisdom’s advice, that obeys her call, turns in to her house, and becomes her guest; and such an one is wise for himself, it is for his own good, profit, and advantage; for the good of his soul, for his present peace and comfort, and for his future bliss and happiness. It is not for her own sake that Wisdom presses her exhortations, and is so urgent on men to take her counsel and advice; it is for their own good; their wisdom is not profitable to her, but to themselves; they, and they only, reap the advantage and usefulness of it; see Job 22:2. The Syriac and Arabic versions add, “and unto thy friends”; and the Septuagint version is, “if thou becomest wise to thyself, thou wilt be wise to neighbours”; they will receive some profit by it;
but [if] thou scornest, thou alone shall bear [it]; the evil, as the Vulgate Latin; the sin of scorning, and the punishment due unto it; it will bring no real hurt to Wisdom, or Christ, nor to his ministers, nor to his Gospel and ordinances, scoffed at; all the hurt will redound to the scoffer himself; and he alone shall bear it, and feel the smart of it, and all the dreadful consequences following upon it. The Septuagint version here adds the following clause,
“he that trusteth in lies, he feedeth on winds; the same pursues birds flying; for he forsakes the ways of his own vineyard; he wanders from the paths of his own husbandry; he passes through a desert without water, and a land destined to thirst, and he gathers unfruitfulness with his hands;”
and which are retained in the Syriac and Arabic version, but are not in the Hebrew text.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This wisdom, resting on the fear of God, is itself a blessing to the wise:
“If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself;
And if thou mockest, thou alone shalt bear it.”
The lxx, with the Syr., mangle the thought of 12a, for they translate: if thou art wise for thyself, so also thou wilt be wise for thy neighbour. The dat. commodi means that it is for the personal advantage of the wise to be wise. The contrast expressed by Job 22:2.: not profitable to God, but to thyself (Hitzig), is scarcely intended, although, so far as the accentuation is antithetic, it is the nearest. The perf. is the hypothetical; Gesen. 126, 1. To bear anything, viz., anything sinful ( or ), is equivalent to, to atone for it, Job 34:2, cf. Num 9:13; Eze 23:35. Also 12b is a contrast scarcely aimed at. Wisdom is its own profit to man; libertinism is its own disgrace. Man decides, whenever he prefers to be wise, or to be a mocker of religion and of virtue, regarding his own weal and woe. With this nota bene the discourse of Wisdom closes.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(12) Thou shalt be wise for thyselfi.e., to thine own benefit. (Comp. 1Co. 3:8.)
Thou alone shalt bear iti.e., its penalty. (Comp. Gal. 6:5.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. For thyself, etc. There is often a feeling in the mind of children and pupils that their parents and teachers make requirements of them for selfish ends; that they and their teachers are two parties, with antagonistic interests. This is a very mischievous error. The more children and pupils can be made to feel that their own good is sought for, in all the means of instruction and discipline, the better: that if they obey and improve, they themselves will be the chief gainers; and if they are refractory and negligent they will be the great losers. This is, probably, the sentiment of the verse. Comp. Job 22:2; Job 35:6-8. On last clause, comp. Num 9:13; Jer 7:19; Gal 6:5; Pro 8:36. The Septuagint adds to this verse the following, not found in the Hebrew: “He that stays himself upon falsehood attempts to rule the winds, and the same will pursue birds in their flight; for he has forsaken the ways of his own vineyard, and he has caused the axles of his own husbandry to go astray; but he goes through a dry desert, and a land appointed to drought, and he gathers barrenness with his hands.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Pro 9:12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but [if] thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear [it].
Ver. 12. If thou be wise, thou shalt. ] The benefit shall be thine own. Plutarch reports of the palm tree that it yields to the Babylonians three hundred and sixty different commodities, and is therefore in great esteem among them. How should men esteem of sound wisdom, since there is a in it, 1Ti 4:8 a thousand commodities to be reaped by it!
Thou alone shalt bear it.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 16:26, Job 22:2, Job 22:3, Job 22:21, Job 35:6, Job 35:7, Isa 28:22, Eze 18:20, 2Pe 3:3, 2Pe 3:4, 2Pe 3:16
Reciprocal: Deu 6:24 – for our good Deu 10:13 – for thy Job 5:27 – for thy good Job 19:4 – mine Psa 1:1 – scornful Pro 3:34 – he scorneth Pro 19:29 – Judgments Zec 12:14 – and
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9:12 If thou art wise, thou shalt be wise for {k} thyself: but [if] thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear [it].
(k) You will have the chief profit and convenience of it.