Proverbs 9:9

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

Give (instruction) to a wise (man), and he will be yet wiser. On the ellipsis of "instruction," or doctrine, to be supplied after "give," cf. ; . Probably Solomon intentionally omitted the noun after "give," to leave the reader to supply reproof, instruction, discipline, and all other means of improvement. Nothing more marks the distinction between the scorner and the wise man than the effect of discipline on each: the scorner becomes worse, the wise man better by it.

Teach a just (man), and he will increase in learning. The "just" in practice and in will is the same as "the wise" in understanding and in theory. Just does not mean absolute justness, but that of aim and tendency (; Philippians 3:12).