9:9

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

9a
Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still ;

9b
teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.

9:9a

Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still: Other ways to translate the clause Instruct a wise man are:

Give instruction to the wise (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Give advice to a wise person (God’s Word)
-or-
Teach the wise (New Century Version)

9:9b

teach a righteous man: The term righteous man refers to a person who is just or righteous in conduct and character. It is someone whose life conforms to God’s standards. (See the note on 1:3b, where the basic meaning of the word is discussed.)

and he will increase his learning: Other ways to translate this clause are:

he will learn even more
-or-
what he knows will increase

General Comments on 9:9a–b

As with 9:7–8, the relationship between 9:9a and 9:9b may be expressed as an “if” clause followed by a consequence. For example:

If you advise a wise person, he will become even wiser. If you teach a righteous person, he will learn even more.

In this verse, the wise person and the righteous person refer to the same individual. In languages that do not use parallelism, it may be necessary to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in some way. For example:

If you instruct a wise or righteous person, he will become even wiser and more knowledgeable.

See also 9:9a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

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