Proverbs 21:24

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Proverbs 21:24 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “The proud and haughty man, scoffer is his name; He worketh in the arrogance of pride.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

The proud and haughty man, scoffer is his name; He worketh in the arrogance of pride.
Proverbs 21:24 — American Standard Version

Context — Proverbs 21

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
24The proud and haughty man, scoffer is his name; He worketh in the arrogance of pride.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Proud [and] haughty scorner [is] his name, etc.] He shall be called a proud fool, a haughty fellow, a scornful blockhead; he shall get himself an ill name, and be treated with contempt; who dealeth in proud wrath; whose pride shows itself in wrathful expressions and actions; who is proud and passionate in all his dealings with men, and who as it were makes a trade of pride and passion: to none is this character more applicable than to antichrist, the man of sin, that sits in the seat of the scornful; exalts himself above all that is called God, has a mouth speaking blasphemies, and a look more stout than his fellows, and deals in proud wrath against the saints of the most High.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The reproachful name is deserved by those who treat others with anger and contempt.”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“21:24 Mockers: See 1:25-27; 9:7-9. Also see study note on 1:22.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“haughty: Pro 6:17, Pro 16:18, Pro 18:12, Pro 19:29; Est 3:5, Est 3:6; Ecc 7:8, Ecc 7:9; Mat 2:16 proud wrath: Heb. the wrath of pride Proverbs 21:25”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“24 A proud and arrogant man is called mocker (free-spirit); One who acteth in superfluity of haughtiness. We have thus translated (vol. i. p. 39): the proverb defines almost in a formal way an idea current from the time of Solomon: לץ (properly, the distorter, vid., Pro 1:7) is an old word; but as with us in the west since the last century, the names of free-thinkers and esprits forts (cf. Isa 46:12) have become current for such as subject the faith of the Church to destructive criticism, so then they were called לצים, who mockingly, as men of full age, set themselves above revealed religion and prophecy ( Isa 28:9); and the above proverb gives the meaning of this name, for it describes in…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification