The Meaning of Proverbs 15:32 Explained

Proverbs 15:32

KJV: He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.

YLT: Whoso is refusing instruction is despising his soul, And whoso is hearing reproof Is getting understanding.

Darby: He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul; but he that heareth reproof getteth sense.

ASV: He that refuseth correction despiseth his own soul; But he that hearkeneth to reproof getteth understanding.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He that refuseth  instruction  despiseth  his own soul:  but he that heareth  reproof  getteth  understanding. 

What does Proverbs 15:32 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 15:18-33 - Words In Season
Learn to be slow to anger. This paragraph describes the even temper which is blessed to live with and blessed to die with. Temper is said to be nine-tenths of Christianity. What best proves a Christian is an even temper. It is told of a Japanese gentleman, who was led by a tract to renounce the use of intoxicants and to accept Jesus Christ, that the immediate effect on his temper was so great that his wife, who had often suffered from his uncontrollable fits of anger, said, "If this is the result of Christianity, I want to become a Christian." When the missionaries afterward visited the place, they found her and ten other persons awaiting baptism.
As these proverbs suggest, the quickest method of overcoming and eradicating the wrong is, in the power of God, to cultivate the right. By this we shall tread the way of the wise that goeth upward toward the heavenly life of the angels, and we shall be saved from a hell of misery. See Proverbs 15:24, r.v. Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 15

1  A gentle answer turns away wrath

What do the individual words in Proverbs 15:32 mean?

He who disdains instruction despises his own soul but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding
פּוֹרֵ֣עַ מ֭וּסָר‪‬ מוֹאֵ֣ס נַפְשׁ֑וֹ וְשׁוֹמֵ֥עַ תּ֝וֹכַ֗חַת ק֣וֹנֶה לֵּֽב

פּוֹרֵ֣עַ  He  who  disdains 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: פָּרַע 
Sense: to lead, act as leader.
מ֭וּסָר‪‬  instruction 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מוּסָר  
Sense: discipline, chastening, correction.
מוֹאֵ֣ס  despises 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: מָאַס 
Sense: to reject, despise, refuse.
נַפְשׁ֑וֹ  his  own  soul 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
וְשׁוֹמֵ֥עַ  but  he  who  heeds 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
תּ֝וֹכַ֗חַת  rebuke 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֹּוכֵחָה 
Sense: rebuke, correction, reproof, punishment, chastisement.
ק֣וֹנֶה  gets 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: קָנָה 
Sense: to get, acquire, create, buy, possess.
לֵּֽב  understanding 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.