Proverbs 17:10

17:10 A rebuke makes a greater impression on ¹  a discerning person

than a hundred blows on a fool. ² 

Proverbs 3:7

3:7 Do not be wise in your own estimation; ³ 

fear the Lord and turn away from evil. ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “goes in deeper” (cf. NASB, NRSV). The verb נָחֵת (nakhet) “to go down; to descend” with the preposition בְּ (bet) means “to descend into; to make an impression on” someone.

² tn The form is the Hiphil infinitive of נָכָה (nakhah) with the comparative מִן, min. The word “fool” then would be an objective genitive – more than blows to/on a fool.

³ tn Heb “in your own eyes” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.”

⁴ sn The second colon clarifies the first. If one fears the Lord and turns away from evil, then he is depending on the Lord and not wise in his own eyes. There is a higher source of wisdom than human insight.