Proverbs 28 · Verse 23

Proverbs 28:23

He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.
Proverbs 28:23, King James Version

Proverbs 28:23 in other translations

BSBHe who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.
WEBOne who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than one who flatters with the tongue.
ASVHe that rebuketh a man shall afterward find more favor Than he that flattereth with the tongue.
YLTWhoso is reproving a man afterwards findeth grace, More than a flatterer with the tongue.
DARBYHe that rebuketh a man shall afterwards find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.
BBEHe who says words of protest to a man will later have more approval than one who says smooth words with his tongue.
WebsterHe that rebuketh a man afterward shall find more favor than he that flattereth with the tongue.

What does Proverbs 28:23 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
23. (Compare Pr 9:8, 9; 27:5). Those benefited by reproof will love their monitors.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
Upon reflection, most will have a better opinion of a faithful reprover than of a soothing flatterer.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 28:23 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

מ֘וֹכִ֤יחַmo.Khi.ach[one who] reprovesH3198
אָדָ֣ם'a.Dama personH120
אַ֭חֲרַי'A.cha.raiafter meH310
חֵ֣ןchenfavorH2580
יִמְצָ֑אyim.Tza'he will findH4672
מִֽמַּחֲלִ֥יקmi.ma.cha.Likmore than [one who] makes smoothH2505
לָשֽׁוֹן\׃la.Shon[the] tongueH3956

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Proverbs 28:23

  • Proverbs 27:5-6

    Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

  • Matthew 18:15

    Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

  • Psalms 141:5

    Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.

  • 2 Peter 3:15-16

    And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

  • 2 Samuel 12:7

    And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

  • Proverbs 29:5

    A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.

  • 1 Kings 1:32-40

    And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. …

  • Galatians 2:11

    But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

  • 1 Kings 1:23

    And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
27:5,6; 2Sa 12:7; 1Ki 1:23,32-40; Ps 141:5; Mt 18:15; Ga 2:11
2Pe 3:15,16

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Proverbs 28:22

    He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

  • Proverbs 28:23

    He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.

  • Proverbs 28:24

    Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.

Read all of Proverbs 28

Proverbs 28:23 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		El que reprende al hombre, hallará después mayor gracia que el que lisonjea con la lengua.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Celui qui reprend un homme trouvera la faveur dans la suite, plutôt que celui qui flatte de la langue.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Wer einen Menschen straft, wird hernach mehr Gunst finden, als wer mit der Zunge schmeichelt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Qui corripit hominem gratiam postea inveniet apud eum, magis quam ille qui per linguæ blandimenta decipit.