What Does Proverbs 13:18 Mean in the King James?
Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The correction that seems to lower your standing is the very thing that gives your life weight.
THE MEANING
When you let instruction go unheld, lack and shame take hold; when you keep correction close, your life acquires weight and honor. Reproof is presented as a source of shape and substance, not merely a wound to your standing.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that correction diminishes you: refusing it leads to shame, while keeping reproof is linked to honor.
THE ROOT
פּוֹרֵעַ
pōrēaʿ
GROWS FROM
פרע
pāraʿ
To let loose or leave unrestrained; by extension, to neglect or disregard.
“refuseth” in this verse is pōrēaʿ. The verb pictures refusal as letting instruction go loose, releasing the restraint that could shape a life. English sounds like a single act of saying no; the Hebrew carries the sense of leaving instruction unheld.
ALSO GROWS
pāraʿ: To let loose or leave unrestrained; also to neglect.
פָּרַע
This verb’s range shows how refusing instruction can mean loosening its hold on a life.
pārūaʿ: Loose or unrestrained.
פָּרוּעַ
This related form makes visible the condition that follows when instruction is let go.
וְשֹׁמֵר
wəshōmēr
GROWS FROM
שׁמר
shāmar
To guard, watch over, or keep.
The word rendered “regardeth” means keeping or guarding. Reproof is not merely noticed in passing; it is held close as something worth preserving.
ALSO GROWS
shāmar: To guard, watch, or keep.
שָׁמַר
This is the verb’s basic sense: the person keeps correction in view instead of dismissing it.
mishmeret: A guard duty or charge to be kept.
מִשְׁמֶרֶת
This noun shows how the same root can describe something entrusted to someone’s care.
יְכֻבָּד
yəḵubbāḏ
GROWS FROM
כבד
kāvēd
To be heavy or weighty; the verb can also mean to honor.
“honoured” in this verse is yəḵubbāḏ. The root ties honor to weight. The one who keeps correction is not simply praised from outside; the verse depicts a life gaining substance and weight.
ALSO GROWS
kāvōḏ: Weight, honor, or glory.
כָּבוֹד
This noun preserves the root’s link between being honored and having weight.
kāvēd: Heavy or weighty.
כָּבֵד
This adjective shows the concrete sense beneath the word translated “honoured.”
THE PATTERN
Correction that is received and kept produces understanding and life, while correction rejected leaves a person in loss.
He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.THE THREAD
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:The reproof here is תּוֹכַחַת (tokhachat, correction or reproof), from יכח (yāḵaḥ, to reprove or correct); Proverbs 6:23 uses תּוֹכְחוֹת (tokhechot, reproofs) from the same root. There, reproofs are called “the way of life,” showing why the person who keeps correction here is honored.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us