Proverbs 1:25 — Word Study
WLCוַתִּפְרְע֥וּ כָל־ עֲצָתִ֑י וְ֝תוֹכַחְתִּ֗י לֹ֣א אֲבִיתֶֽם׃
BSAbecause you neglectedpâraʻ▸ [ignored, set at naught] allkôl my counselʻêtsâh [advice, guidance] and wantedʼâbâh■ [would have, were willing to accept] nonelôʼ [not any, no part] of my correctiontôwkêchâh [rebuke, reproof, verbal chastisement]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וַתִּפְרְע֥וּ | and you ignored | Verb, Qal, sequential imperfect second person masculine plural |
| כָל־ | all | Noun common, masculine singular construct |
| עֲצָתִ֑י | advice my | Noun common feminine singular construct, suffix |
| וְ֝תוֹכַחְתִּ֗י | and rebuke my | Conjunction, noun common feminine singular construct, suffix |
| לֹ֣א | not | Particle |
| אֲבִיתֶֽם׃ | you yielded to | Verb, Qal, perfect second person masculine plural |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction, |
| KJV | But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: |
| ASV | But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof: |
| YLT | And ye slight all my counsel, And my reproof ye have not desired. |
| WEB | but you have ignored all my counsel, and wanted none of my reproof; |
| BBE | You were not controlled by my guiding, and would have nothing to do with my sharp words: |
The translations agree in their rendering of the key concepts in this verse.
The sentence features a main clause followed by two connected phrases, emphasizing the actions of neglect and refusal.




5 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbפָּרַע
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Proverbs 1:25
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — Warnings Against Rejecting Wisdomgenerated
Proverbs 1:25 is part of a series of admonitions where God warns about the consequences of ignoring His wisdom and guidance. The surrounding verses highlight the importance of accepting divine counsel and the repercussions of neglecting it, illustrating a broader theme of the book of Proverbs regarding wisdom and folly.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proverbs 1:30 | They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof. |
| 2 | 2 Chronicles 36:16 | But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy. |
| 3 | Psalm 107:11 | because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. |
| 4 | Luke 7:30 | But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. |
| 5 | Proverbs 1:30 | They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 8 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — פָּרַע, va.tif.re.'Ugenerated
The verb פָּרַע (para') means to neglect or let go, implying a dismissal of responsibility or guidance. It can also suggest exposing something, indicating a turning away from God. The parsing as a sequential imperfect second person masculine plural indicates that this action is directed at a group, emphasizing collective neglect.
This word captures the essence of ignoring wise counsel and reflects a broader biblical theme of the consequences of such actions. In this context, it signifies a refusal to heed God's advice, which leads to dire consequences.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The translations generally agree on the meaning of the verse.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse revolves around the finite verb תִּפְרְע֥וּ, you ignored, which governs the object כָל־עֲצָתִ֑י (all my counsel) and the conjunction leading to the next clause. The sentence is constructed to emphasize the actions of neglect and refusal.
The word order places the verb at the beginning, highlighting the act of ignoring as the central theme of the verse, followed by the objects that are being neglected.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, the Hebrew verb פָּרַע is rendered with a Greek equivalent that captures the essence of ignoring or dismissing counsel. This choice reflects a similar understanding of the consequences of neglecting wisdom.
The LXX translation aligns closely with the Hebrew meaning, emphasizing the seriousness of rejecting divine guidance.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Proverbs 1:25 warns that ignoring God's advice and refusing His correction leads to negative consequences. It emphasizes the importance of listening to wisdom and accepting guidance to avoid trouble.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Neglecting God's counsel means ignoring His guidance and wisdom, which can lead to poor decisions and negative outcomes.
Correction is important as it represents God's desire to guide and help us make wise choices; rejecting it can lead to dire consequences.
To avoid neglecting God's advice, regularly engage with Scripture, pray for wisdom, and seek counsel from wise individuals.
Ignoring wisdom can lead to confusion, poor decisions, and ultimately, distress and calamity, as highlighted in the surrounding verses.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what areas of my life might I be ignoring wise counsel?
- How can I be more receptive to correction and guidance?
- What steps can I take to seek wisdom actively?
- How does this verse challenge my understanding of God's guidance?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early commentators reference this verse to highlight the consequences of ignoring divine counsel and correction.
You have despised all my counsel. Saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew III).Early Church Fathers on Proverbs 1 →
And neglected my reproofs. Saying, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you have taken the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering (Matthew XXIII).Early Church Fathers on Proverbs 1 →
Commentators on this verse — 5 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Proverbs 1:25 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleBut ye have set at nought all my counsel,.... The same with "the counsel of God", Acts 20:27.
Read John Gill on Proverbs 1 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryBut ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof.
Read Robert Jamieson on Proverbs 1 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleSet at nought, or despised, or made void; resisted its power and authority. My counsel: either, 1. My design of doing sinners good, which you have made of none effect to yourselves. Or, 2. My commands and counsels, which suits better with the next clause.
Read Matthew Poole on Proverbs 1 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsProverbs 1:25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:Ver. 25. But ye have set at naught.] As those recusant guests in the Gospel that pretended they therefore came not, because they had bought farms and oxen; but indeed it was because their farms and oxen had bought them. They had either so much to do, or so little to do, that they could not make use of so fair an offer, so sweet advice and advantage. And would none of my reproof.] Ruinam praecedunt stillicidia. It is a sure presage and desert of ruin, when men will not be ruled. The cypress, the more it is watered, the more it is withered. The tree that is not for fruit, is for the fire. The earth that…
Read John Trapp on Proverbs 1 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible25. Set at naught — Or, let go, did not value it. Would none of my reproof — That is, did not desire it, would not receive it.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Proverbs 1 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction,
but you have ignored all my counsel, and wanted none of my reproof;
because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction,
because you neglected all my advice, and did not comply with my rebuke,
Tyndale line
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof:
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
But ye have set at naught all my counsel, and rejected my reproof:
But ye haue despised all my counsell, and would none of my correction.
Strictly literal
and ye have rejected all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
And ye slight all my counsel, And my reproof ye have not desired.
And you slight all my counsel, || And you have not desired my reproof.
And ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would not accept my admonition:
But you have ignored all my instruction and paid no attention to my correction.
From the Latin
You have despised all my counsel, and have neglected my reprehensions.
Simplified
You ignored everything I said; you wouldn't accept any of my warnings.
You were not controlled by my guiding, and would have nothing to do with my sharp words:
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint show agreement in the core message of the verse, although the Septuagint presents a different word order and some variations in wording. The essence of neglecting counsel and rejecting correction remains consistent between the two.
וַתִּפְרְע֥וּ כָל־ עֲצָתִ֑י וְ֝תוֹכַחְתִּ֗י לֹ֣א אֲבִיתֶֽם׃
3 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Proverbs 1:25
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
פָּרַע (para') is a Hebrew verb that primarily means to let go or neglect, with implications of loosening or exposing. It can also denote acting as a leader, as noted in Judges 5:2. The entries suggest a range of meanings from allowing freedom to causing a lack of restraint, with some lexicons emphasizing leadership and others focusing on neglect.
[פָּרַע] vb. denom. act as leader, lead(?);—only Ju 5:2
ref
פָּרַע vb. let go, let alone
Qal
let go, let loose, people, i.e. remove restraint from them
let alone = avoid; = neglect; = refrain
Niph. the people is let loose, lacks restraint.
Hiph.
cause people to refrain
shew lack of restraint
base
H6544a פָּרַע vb. denom. act as leader, lead(?) H6544b פָּרַע let go, let alone
6544 para` paw-rah'
a primitive root; to loosen; by implication, to expose,
dismiss; figuratively, absolve, begin:--avenge, avoid, bare,
go back, let, (make) naked, set at nought, perish, refuse,
uncover.
פָּרַע (pa.ra) — to lead.
to lead, act as leader
פָּרַע (pa.ra) — to neglect.
1) to let go, let loose, ignore, let alone
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to let go, let loose
1a2) to let alone, avoid, neglect
1a3) to loosen
1b) (Niphal) to be let loose, be loosened of restraint
1c) (Hiphil)
1c1) to cause to refrain
1c2) to show lack of restraint
1c3) to let loose restraints
Conj | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-2mp — Verb · Qal · sequential imperfect second person masculine pluralHc/Vqw2mp
כֹּל (kol) means 'all' or 'the whole.' It can refer to totality, including every person or thing, and is often used with a following genitive to specify what is included. The term can also denote a broader sense of everything in existence or all circumstances of life. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.
כֹּל once כּוֹל n.m. the whole, all
with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every
Absolutely:
without the art., all things, all
with the art. הַכֹּל
where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned
in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)
base
H3605 כֹּל once כּוֹל the whole, all . with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every
. Absolutely: . without the art., all things, all
. with the art. הַכֹּל . where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned
. in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)
3605 kol kole
or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole;
hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a
plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any
(manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as
many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole,
whoso(-ever).
see HEBREW for 03634
כֹּל (kol) — all.
1) all, the whole
1a) all, the whole of
1b) any, each, every, anything
1c) totality, everything
Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606)
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular constructHNcmsc
ol: Used in various combinations, and with different meanings.
(1) All along, "Weeping all along as he went" (Jer 41:6), i.e. throughout the whole way he went, feigning equal concern with the men from Shiloh, etc., for the destruction of the Temple, so as to put them off their guard.
(2) All in all, "That God may be all in all" (1Co 15:28, Greek: panta en pasin, "all things in all (persons and) things"). "The universe, with all it comprises, will wholly answer to God's will and reflect His mind" (Dummelow).
עֵצָה (`etsah) refers to counsel or advice, and can also imply a plan or purpose. It is derived from a root meaning to advise or provide guidance. The entries consistently emphasize its use in contexts related to providing counsel or making decisions.
עֵצָה n.f. counsel, advice
base
H6098 עֵצָה counsel, advice
6098 `etsah ay-tsaw'
from 3289; advice; by implication, plan; also
prudence:--advice, advisement, counsel(l-(or)), purpose.
see HEBREW for 03289
עֵצָה (e.tsah) — counsel.
counsel, advice, purpose
N-fs | Suff — Noun common feminine singular construct · suffixHNcfsc/Sp1bs
תּוֹכֵחָה (towkechah) refers to rebuke or correction, while תּוֹכַ֫חַת (towkachath) pertains to argument or reproof. Both terms involve verbal expressions of correction or chastisement. The entries emphasize their use in contexts of correction and reasoning, but do not provide specific verse references.
תּוֹכֵחָה n.f. rebuke, correction
base
תּוֹכַ֫חַת n.f. argument, reproof
argument, impeachment, spoken by lips and mouth
reproof, chiding
correction, rebuke
base
H8433a תּוֹכֵחָה rebuke, correction H8433b תּוֹכַ֫חַת argument, reproof . argument, impeachment, spoken by lips and mouth
. reproof, chiding
. correction, rebuke
8433 towkechah to-kay-khaw'
and towkachath {to-kakh'-ath}; from 3198; chastisement;
figuratively (by words) correction, refutation, proof (even in
defence):--argument, X chastened, correction, reasoning,
rebuke, reproof, X be (often) reproved.
see HEBREW for 03198
תּוֹכֵחָה (to.khe.chah) — rebuke.
rebuke, correction, punishment, chastisement
תּוֹכַ֫חַת (to.kha.chat) — argument.
1) argument, reproof
1a) argument, impeachment
1b) reproof, chiding
1c) correction, rebuke
Conj | N-fs | Suff — Conjunction · noun common feminine singular construct · suffixHC/Ncfsc/Sp1bs
לֹא (lo') is a Hebrew word meaning 'not' or 'no.' It serves as a simple negation and can imply absence or prohibition. The word can also be used in various contexts, often combined with other particles for emphasis or clarification. Its Aramaic equivalent is לָא (la), which also means 'not.'
לֹא or לוֹא adv. not
base
H3808 לֹא or לוֹא not
3808 lo' lo
or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle;
not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often
used with other particles (as follows):--X before, + or else,
ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never,
no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out
of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, +
of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.
לֹא (lo) — not.
1) not, no
1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition)
1b) not (with modifier-negation)
1c) nothing (subst)
1d) without (with particle)
1e) before (of time)
Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)
Part — ParticleHTn
The Hebrew word אָבָה (*abah*) means to be willing or to consent. It is a primitive root that conveys ideas of acquiescence and desire. The word appears in various forms and contexts throughout the Old Testament, often indicating a willingness to yield or accept, sometimes in both positive and negative senses.
אָבָה vb. be willing, consent (cf. As. abîtu, command, Dl W, Eth. Ethiopic refuse, Ar. Arabic, id., Nejd be willing So De Jes 3, p. 26; LCB 1880, 817)—
Qal (c. לֹא, אַל exc. Is 1:19 Jb 39:9; in Hex. rare & Only JED, incl. Lv 26:21); Pf. אָבָה Ex 10:27 + אָבוּ Ju 19:25 + 7 t.; אָבוּא Is 28:12 (Sta § 31 R.2; Kö I, 414); Impf. יֹאבֶה Dt 29:19 + 2 t.; 2 ms. juss. תֹּבֵֽא Pr 1:10 (Sta § 143 e 1 nn; Kö I, 578 f) etc.; Pt. אֹבִים Ez 3:7;—be willing, sq. Inf.…
Read the full entry →H14 אָבָה be willing, consent
14 'abah aw-baw'
a primitive root; to breathe after, i.e. (figuratively) to be
acquiescent:--consent, rest content will, be willing.
אָבָה (a.vah) — be willing.
1) to be willing, consent
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to be willing
1a2) to consent, yield to, accept
1a3) to desire
V-Qal-Perf-2mp — Verb · Qal · perfect second person masculine pluralHVqp2mp
