Proverbs 9:7

Hebrew Bible

4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here.” To those who lack understanding, she has said, 5 “Come, eat some of my food, and drink some of the wine I have mixed. 6 Abandon your foolish ways so that you may live, and proceed in the way of understanding.” 7 Whoever corrects a mocker is asking for insult; whoever reproves a wicked person receives abuse. 8 Do not reprove a mocker, or he will hate you; reprove a wise person, and he will love you.

Matthew 7:6

New Testament

3 Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.

 Notes and References

"... Qohelet knows that 'there is a time to be silent and a time to speak' (Ecclesiastes 3:7). Proverbs repeatedly speaks of or implies silence as sign of wisdom (Proverbs 11:13; 15:23; 20:19; 23:9; 30:32-33). Similarly, Ben Sira links silence and wisdom: 'There is one who by keeping silent is thought to be wise (Sirach 20:5). In his teaching on silence (Sirach 20:1-8) Ben Sira condemns not only waste of words in talkativeness, but emphasizes on a more positive note two motives for silence: silence for want of knowledge and silence in wait for the proper time to speak in order to be effective. Motives for silence are (l) prudence, lest somebody pass on wrong information because he speaks without sufficient insight (5:12), (2) staying loyal to one's friends (19:5-12), (3) perplexity or embarrassment in not knowing the proper answer one needs to give (20:5), and, most importantly, (4) waiting for the propitious time to speak with maximum effectiveness (20:6-7) ..."

Chilton, Bruce Authenticating the Words of Jesus (p. 247) Brill, 2002

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