Proverbs 3:11
“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:”
King James Version (KJV)
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Proverbs 3:11-12 forms a unit on receiving God's discipline; verse 11 warns against despising or growing weary of it, preparing for the reason given in verse 12.
What Does Proverbs 3:11 Mean?
God's discipline is not rejection but care, and it should be received rather than resented. This verse addresses one of life's hardest experiences -- correction and hardship that come from God's hand. It names two wrong responses and warns against both: do not "despise" the chastening, and do not "be weary" of it.
To "despise" correction is to brush it off, treating God's discipline as if it carried no meaning or value. To "be weary" of it is the opposite extreme -- to grow so discouraged under it that hope collapses. Both reactions miss what discipline is for. The Hebrew word for "chastening," musar, refers to formative training, the kind a wise parent gives to shape a beloved child. The very next verse explains the reason: God corrects those He loves. This reframes hardship entirely. Rather than evidence that God has turned away, loving correction is evidence that He is actively involved, treating the reader as His own. The verse does not pretend discipline is pleasant. It simply asks the learner to interpret it rightly -- neither shrugging it off nor sinking beneath it, but receiving it as the attentive care of a Father who is committed to his child's good.
In the Original Language
"Chastening" renders musar, instructive discipline or formative training. "Be weary" translates qutz, to feel loathing or to lose heart under something burdensome.
Cross References
“For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”
- Proverbs 3:12
“My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.”
- Hebrews 12:5-6
“Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:”
- Job 5:17
Application
When hardship or correction comes, resist both shrugging it off and sinking under it; receive it as the attentive care of a loving Father.