«A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding»: For «rebuke» see 13.1. «Goes deeper» refers to the impact or effect that the rebuke or correction has on a person’s behavior. «A man of understanding», as in 1.5, refers here to an intelligent or wise person.

«Than a hundred blows into a fool»: The single correction for the wise person who learns quickly is compared to «a hundred blows» to the body of a fool. «Blows» are forcible strikes against the body made by an instrument such as a whip or stick. In this saying the «blows» are given to correct the person’s faults. Bible en français courant translates “A rebuke has more influence on an intelligent person than a hundred blows of a stick on a fool.” We may also say, for example, “A wise person learns more from a single correction than a fool learns from being beaten a hundred times.” See Good News Translation. In one language the verse is restructured to say “If you want to correct a thinking person, you talk to him just once and he understands. But if you want to correct a foolish person, you can hit him with a stick 100 times, and he will still not change his ways.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .