Proverbs 28:23

23 Whoever rebukes a person will afterward find more favor than one who flatters with the tongue.

Proverbs 28:23 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 28:23

He that rebuketh a man
His friend and acquaintance, for any fault committed by him; which reproof he gives in a free and faithful manner, yet kind, tender, and affectionate. The word rendered "afterwards", which begins the next clause, according to the accents belongs to this, and is by some rendered, "he that rebuketh a man after me" ^F2; after my directions, according to the rules I have given; that is, after God, and by his order; or Solomon, after his example, who delivered out these sentences and instructions. The Targum so connects the word, and renders the clause,

``he that rebukes a man before him;''

openly, to his thee: but rather it may be rendered "behind"; that is, as Cocceius interprets it, apart, alone, privately, and secretly, when they are by themselves; which agrees with Christ's instructions, ( Matthew 18:15 ) ; afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the
tongue;
for though the reproofs given him may uneasy upon his mind at first, and may be cutting and wounding, and give him some pain, and so some dislike to the reprover; yet when he coolly considers the nature and tendency of the reproof, the manner in which it was given, and the design of it, he will love, value, and esteem his faithful friend and rebuker, more than the man that fawned upon him, and flattered him with having done that which was right and well; or, as the Targum, than he that divideth the tongue, or is doubletongued; and so the Syriac version; see ( Proverbs 27:5 Proverbs 27:6 ) ( Psalms 141:3 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 (yrxa) "post me", Montanus, Tigurine version, Baynus; so some in Vatablus and Michaelis, R. Saadiah Gaon; "ut sequatur me", Junius & Tremellius.

Proverbs 28:23 In-Context

21 To show partiality is not good— yet for a piece of bread a person may do wrong.

22 The miser is in a hurry to get rich and does not know that loss is sure to come.

23 Whoever rebukes a person will afterward find more favor than one who flatters with the tongue.

24 Anyone who robs father or mother and says, "That is no crime," is partner to a thug.

25 The greedy person stirs up strife, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be enriched.