Proverbs 3:34
Resisteth the Proud
Wording onlyQuoted by the apostles in James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5, in the older Greek wording
Two apostles quote the same proverb word for word, and neither matches the one in your Bible.
Side by Side
The Older Text
Septuagint, translated before Messiah
The Lord resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble.
The Later Text
Masoretic, finished about 1,000 years after the cross
Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
Quoted in James 4:6
Also word for word in 1 Peter 5:5
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Your KJV reads: the Hebrew “scorneth the scorners” in Proverbs, and the Greek “resisteth the proud” in James and Peter.
See what changed and why ↓What Your Bible Says
Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
James 4:6 KJV
James quotes the line. Peter quotes it too: “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Two apostles, the same words.
What the Proverb Says
Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
Proverbs 3:34 KJV
In the Hebrew, Yahuah meets mockers with mockery. The scorner laughs at correction, and in the end the laugh is turned on him.
What Changed
The Greek put “scorners” as “the proud” and “scorneth” as “resists.” The second half, favor for the lowly, stands the same in both.
It is the same man either way. The scorner in Proverbs is the proud man who will not be taught: “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee” (Proverbs 9:8).
One Lawgiver
A few verses later James says: “There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy” (James 4:12). The One who resists the proud is the One who gave the Law, and He alone is able to save. James also warns that the man who speaks evil of his brother “speaketh evil of the law” (James 4:11). The Law still stands as the measure.
Purpose of the Change
No motive evident: wording variation only. It matters because James and Peter both quoted the Greek wording, which is why your KJV reads one way in Proverbs and another in their letters.
The Bottom Line
The Hebrew says He scorns the scorner. The Greek says He resists the proud. The apostles quoted the Greek, and the proud fall either way.
The proudest of all falls at the end: “she saith in her heart, I sit a queen … Therefore shall her plagues come in one day … for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her” (Revelation 18:7–8).
Dig Deeper The evidence, for anyone who wants it
Who Is the Scorner?
Proverbs uses the scorner for the mocker who loves his own mockery: “the scorners delight in their scorning” (Proverbs 1:22). He is not just rude. He refuses instruction. That is why the Greek could call him simply “the proud.”
Lord, God, or He?
The Hebrew line says only “he.” The Greek says “the Lord.” James and Peter both say “God.” All three point to Yahuah. The small difference shows the apostles quoted freely from the Greek, not from a fixed word list.