Reproof

“Open rebuke is better than secret love,” says Proverbs 27:5, and much of this topic is that book’s blunt wisdom. A wise person welcomes correction: “he that regardeth reproof is prudent” (Proverbs 15:5), while a scorner, Proverbs 9:8 says, may come to hate the one who reproves him. The same idea carries into the New Testament. Jesus tells a person wronged by a brother to “go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone” (Matthew 18:15), which keeps reproof private and aimed at winning someone back. Paul tells Timothy to “reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering.” In these verses, honest correction is a form of care, and the patience matters as much as the words.

333 verses

Genesis

Genesis 6:5

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:6

And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Genesis 6:7

And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Genesis 19:13

For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

Exodus

Exodus 10:29

And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.

Exodus 16:6

And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:

Exodus 16:7

And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?

Exodus 32:19

And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

Exodus 32:20

And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

Exodus 32:21

And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

Exodus 32:22

And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.

Exodus 32:23

For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Exodus 32:24

And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

Exodus 32:25

And when Moses saw that the people were naked;(for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)

Exodus 32:26

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

Exodus 32:27

And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.

Exodus 32:28

And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

Exodus 32:29

For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

Exodus 32:30

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

Leviticus

Leviticus 19:17

Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

Numbers

Numbers 14:9

Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

Numbers 14:10

But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

Numbers 14:26

And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Numbers 14:27

How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.

Numbers 14:28

Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:

Numbers 14:29

Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,

Numbers 14:30

Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

Numbers 14:31

But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.

Numbers 14:32

But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.

Numbers 14:33

And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.

Numbers 14:34

After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

Numbers 14:35

I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

Numbers 14:36

And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,

Numbers 14:37

Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD.

Numbers 14:38

But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.

Numbers 14:39

And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.

Numbers 14:40

And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned.

Numbers 14:41

And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper.

Numbers 14:42

Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.

Numbers 14:43

For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you.

Numbers 14:44

But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.

Numbers 14:45

Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.

Numbers 20:10

And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

Numbers 32:14

And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 1:12

How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?

Deuteronomy 1:26

Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God:

Deuteronomy 1:27

And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

Deuteronomy 1:28

Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.

Deuteronomy 1:29

Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.

Deuteronomy 1:30

The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

Deuteronomy 1:31

And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

Deuteronomy 1:32

Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,

Deuteronomy 1:33

Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

Deuteronomy 1:34

And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,

Deuteronomy 1:35

Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,

Deuteronomy 1:36

Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.

Deuteronomy 1:37

Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.

Deuteronomy 1:38

But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

Deuteronomy 1:39

Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

Deuteronomy 1:40

But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

Deuteronomy 1:41

Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.

Deuteronomy 1:42

And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.

Deuteronomy 1:43

So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill.

Deuteronomy 9:16

And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.

Deuteronomy 9:17

And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.

Deuteronomy 9:18

And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

Deuteronomy 9:19

For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.

Deuteronomy 9:20

And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.

Deuteronomy 9:21

And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.

Deuteronomy 9:22

And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath.

Deuteronomy 9:23

Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.

Deuteronomy 9:24

Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.

Deuteronomy 28:15

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

Deuteronomy 28:16

Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.

Deuteronomy 28:17

Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.

Deuteronomy 28:18

Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

Deuteronomy 28:19

Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

Deuteronomy 28:20

The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

Deuteronomy 28:21

The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

Deuteronomy 28:22

The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

Deuteronomy 28:23

And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.

Deuteronomy 28:24

The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

Deuteronomy 28:25

The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

Deuteronomy 28:26

And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.

Deuteronomy 28:27

The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.

Deuteronomy 28:28

The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:

Deuteronomy 28:29

And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.

Deuteronomy 28:30

Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.

Deuteronomy 28:31

Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.

Deuteronomy 28:32

Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand.

Deuteronomy 28:33

The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:

Deuteronomy 28:34

So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

Deuteronomy 28:35

The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.

Deuteronomy 28:36

The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.

Deuteronomy 28:37

And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.

Deuteronomy 28:38

Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.

Deuteronomy 28:39

Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.

Deuteronomy 28:40

Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.

Deuteronomy 28:41

Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.

Deuteronomy 28:42

All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.

Based on Nave's Topical Bible by Orville J. Nave (1896). Public domain. KJV scripture text, public domain.