Proverbs 1:30 — Word Study
WLCלֹא־ אָב֥וּ לַעֲצָתִ֑י נָ֝אֲצ֗וּ כָּל־ תּוֹכַחְתִּֽי׃
BSAThey acceptedʼâbâh■ [would have] nonelôʼ of my counselʻêtsâh [divine, wise, advice, guidance] they despisednâʼats■ [rejected, scorned] allkôl [every, the entirety of] my reprooftôwkêchâh [correction, rebuke, verbal chastisement]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | not | Particle |
| אָב֥וּ | they yielded | Verb, Qal, perfect third person common plural |
| לַעֲצָתִ֑י | to advice my | Preposition, noun common feminine singular construct, suffix |
| נָ֝אֲצ֗וּ | they spurned | Verb, Qal, perfect third person common plural |
| כָּל־ | all | Noun common, masculine singular construct |
| תּוֹכַחְתִּֽי׃ | rebuke my | Noun common feminine singular construct, suffix |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof. |
| KJV | They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. |
| ASV | They would none of my counsel, They despised all my reproof. |
| YLT | They have not consented to my counsel, They have despised all my reproof, |
| WEB | They wanted none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof. |
| BBE | They had no desire for my teaching, and my words of protest were as nothing to them. |
Where they part company is תּוֹכַחְתִּֽי — see How Translations Differ.
One main clause with a subordinate phrase detailing the rejection of reproof. The structure highlights the severity of their choices.
5 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbאָבָה
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 1:30
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 — The Consequences of Ignoring Wisdomgenerated
Proverbs 1:30 is a reflection on the rejection of wisdom and guidance. The preceding verses highlight the importance of knowledge and the fear of the LORD, which the people have chosen to disregard. This passage warns that such choices will lead to dire consequences, as seen in the following verses that discuss the outcomes of their actions.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proverbs 1:25 | because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction, |
| 2 | Psalm 81:11 | But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me. |
| 3 | Psalm 119:111–173 | Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. |
| 4 | Jeremiah 8:9 | The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have? |
| 5 | Luke 14:18–20 | But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.’ |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 5 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — אָב֥וּ, 'a.Vugenerated
The verb אָבָה ('abah) means to yield or consent. It indicates a willingness to accept counsel or guidance. In this verse, it is used in the negative sense, showing that the people did not yield to the divine advice offered.
This word is a perfect tense verb in the Qal stem, indicating a completed action in the past. The use of this verb emphasizes the finality of their rejection of wisdom.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb is אָב֥וּ, they yielded, which governs the entire sentence structure. It is followed by two phrases: a prepositional phrase indicating the object of their yielding and a second verb phrase that describes their action of spurning.
The word order emphasizes the rejection of counsel first, followed by the totality of their scorn for reproof, highlighting the severity of their choices.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates לֹא as οὐδὲ, meaning 'not even,' which reinforces the negation present in the Hebrew. This choice emphasizes the total rejection of counsel.
For נָאֲצ֗וּ, the Greek ἐμοὺς indicates a direct object, suggesting a more personal rejection of the speaker's correction.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Proverbs 1:30 shows that the people have rejected God's counsel and despised His reproof. This rejection leads to serious consequences, as they choose their own path instead of following divine wisdom.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Rejecting counsel means disregarding wise advice or guidance, often leading to negative outcomes.
Wisdom is crucial because it provides guidance that can prevent harm and lead to better choices.
Despising reproof can result in a lack of correction, leading to continued mistakes and ultimately harmful outcomes.
Learning to accept counsel involves being open to feedback and willing to consider other perspectives, especially from wise sources.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what areas of my life am I rejecting wise counsel?
- How can I become more receptive to correction and guidance?
- What consequences have I seen from ignoring advice in the past?
- How can I encourage others to accept wise counsel?
Commentators on this verse — 5 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Proverbs 1:30 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThey would none of my counsel,.... Neither his doctrines nor his ordinances; nor would they attend to the wholesome counsel and advice he gave them in his sermons upon the mount, and in other
Read John Gill on Proverbs 1 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThey would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. They would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof - (Proverbs 1:25.) "Despised," rejected with reviling and cursing.
Read Robert Jamieson on Proverbs 1 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleThey would none of my counsel; they refused to be guided by my counsels or precepts.
Read Matthew Poole on Proverbs 1 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsProverbs 1:30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.Ver. 30. They would none of my counsel.] These are condemned and menaced, as well as those that despised or execrated God’ s reproof. So also in the precedent verse, not only they that "hated knowledge," but that "did not choose the fear of the Lord." They despised all my reproof.] Heb., They execrated, blasphemed it.
Read John Trapp on Proverbs 1 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible30. Would — Used here, as in Proverbs 1:25, as a principal verb, the preterite of will. They willed, determined, not to have my counsel.
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
They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof.
They wanted none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof.
They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof.
they did not comply with my advice, they spurned all my rebuke.
Tyndale line
They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
They would none of my counsel, They despised all my reproof.
They would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof:
They rejected my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
They would none of my counsell, but despised all my correction.
Strictly literal
they would none of my counsel, they despised all my reproof:
They have not consented to my counsel, They have despised all my reproof,
They have not consented to my counsel, || They have despised all my reproof,
[That] they would not attend to my counsel: [that] they rejected all my admonition.
they would not follow my instruction, and they despised all my correction.
From the Latin
Nor consented to my counsel, but despised all my reproof.
Simplified
They're not willing to accept my advice; they despise all my warnings.
They had no desire for my teaching, and my words of protest were as nothing to them.
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 matches the Septuagint in three of the six words, indicating a general agreement in the core message. The Dead Sea Scrolls provide partial support, with some words restored, confirming the main ideas of rejection and scorn for counsel.
לֹא־ אָב֥וּ לַעֲצָתִ֑י נָ֝אֲצ֗וּ כָּל־ תּוֹכַחְתִּֽי׃
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.
לא אבו לעצת׳י נאצו כל תוכחת׳י
5 words on the leather — 1 partly restored.
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 1:30
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.
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-3cp — Verb · Qal · perfect third person common pluralHVqp3cp
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
Prep | N-fs | Suff — Preposition · noun common feminine singular construct · suffixHR/Ncfsc/Sp1bs
נָאַץ (na'ats) is a Hebrew verb meaning to spurn or contemn. It has various forms including Qal, Piel, Hiphil, and Hithpolel, indicating different nuances of scorn and contempt. The word appears in contexts of disdain and provocation, with a notable reference in Ecclesiastes 12:5. The entries collectively emphasize its meanings related to despising and abhoring.
נָאַץ vb. contemn, spurn
Qal contemn
Pi. contemn, spurn
Hiph.
Hithpo‛el every day is my name contemned
base
H5006 נָאַץ contemn, spurn
5006 na'ats naw-ats'
a primitive root; to scorn; or (Ecclesiastes 12:5) by
interchange for 5132, to bloom:--abhor, (give occasion to)
blaspheme, contemn, despise, flourish, X great, provoke.
see HEBREW for 05132
נָאַץ (na.ats) — to spurn.
1) to spurn, contemn, despise, abhor
1a) (Qal) to spurn, contemn
1b) (Piel)
1b1) to spurn
1b2) to cause to contemn
1c) (Hiphil) to spurn
1d) (Hithpolel) to be contemned
V-Qal-Perf-3cp — Verb · Qal · perfect third person common pluralHVqp3cp
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).
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
N-fs | Suff — Noun common feminine singular construct · suffixHNcfsc/Sp1bs