Proverbs 15:32

“He that refuseth instruction, etc.] The instruction of parents, masters, ministers, and of God himself; or “correction”f457, instruction either by the word or by the rod; he that withdraws himself from it, will not be in the way of it, that shuns, neglects, and despises it, or carelessly and contemptuously attends it: despiseth his own soul; shows that he makes no account of it, has no regard for it or care about it, when it is so precious a jewel, and the loss of it irreparable; not that a man can strictly and properly despise his soul, but comparatively, having a greater regard for his body, and especially for his carnal lusts and pleasures, than for that; or as a man diseased and refuses…”

“refuseth--or, "neglects," "passes by" (Pro 1:25; Pro 4:15). despiseth . . . soul--so acts as if esteeming its interests of no value.”

“refuseth: Pro 1:24-33, Pro 5:11, Pro 5:12, Pro 8:33-36; Psa 50:17; Heb 12:15 instruction: or, correction, Pro 29:1; Isa 1:5; Jer 5:3; Eze 24:13, Eze 24:14 heareth: or, obeyeth, Pro 5:13; Deu 21:18, Deu 21:20; Mat 7:24-27; Jam 1:22; Rev 3:19 getteth understanding: Heb. possesseth an heart, Pro 15:14, Pro 15:21 \*marg. Pro 17:16, Pro 18:15 Proverbs 15:33”

“Two proverbs with the catchword מוּסר: 32 He that refuseth correction lightly values his soul; But he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. Regarding פּורע מוּסר, vid., Pro 13:18, cf. Pro 1:25, and מואס נפשׁו, Pro 8:36. נפשׁו contains more than the later expression עצמו, self; it is equivalent to חיּיו ( Job 9:21), for the נפשׁ is the bond of union between the intellectual and the corporeal life. The despising of the soul is then the neglecting, endangering, exposing of the life; in a word, it is suicide (10b). Pro 19:8 is a variation derived from this distich: "He who gains understanding loves his soul," according to which the lxx translate here ἀγαπᾷ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ. לב the Midrash…”