21:24

The first line of this proverb describes the character of a mocker. The second line describes how he acts.

24a Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—

24b of him who acts with excessive pride.

21:24a

Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man: In Hebrew this phrase has no verb. It is literally “proud arrogant mocker [is] his name.”

The purpose of this phrase is to describe the kind of person who is known or identified as Mocker. Mocker is the word that people use to refer to him. It is not his real name. Some ways to translate this phrase are:

• Use a capital letter to indicate that Mocker functions as a name or title. For example:

The proud, haughty person, named “Scoffer,” (New Revised Standard Version)

• Use a small letter to indicate that people are identifying a character quality when they speak of the person. For example:

An arrogant, conceited person is called a mocker. (God’s Word)
-or-
If you are proud and conceited, everyone will say, “You’re a snob!” (Contemporary English Version)

• Describe the character trait without referring explicitly to what the person is named or called. For example:

Mockers are proud and haughty (New Living Translation (2004))

The three closely related Hebrew words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as proud, arrogant, and Mocker overlap in meaning.

Mocker: A person who is “proud” and “arrogant” treats others with scorn. He “mocks” or makes fun of both other people and God.

proud: The adjective form proud occurs only here in Proverbs. In most of its occurrences elsewhere, the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “arrogant.” The noun form “pride” occurs in 11:2a, 13:10a, and 21:24b.

A proud person thinks about his own importance. He is also presumptuous and insolent. He assumes that he can do what he wants. So he refuses to respect other people’s opinions or to accept the authority of others, including God.

arrogant: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as arrogant occurs only here in Proverbs. It refers to a person who is self-centered and is unwilling to learn or submit to God.

All three of these words describe a person who is aggressively proud. In many languages, it will be possible to use a combination of words, phrases, or idioms to translate the same range of meaning.

21:24b

of him who acts with excessive pride: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as excessive is literally “anger” or “excess/outburst.” It means “wrath” or “anger” in most of the OT verses where it occurs. In this context, it probably refers to an “outburst” or “excess” of pride. It probably also implies anger. Some other ways to translate this part of the verse are:

they act with boundless arrogance (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
His arrogance knows no limits. (God’s Word)
-or-
one who behaves with insolent fury

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