“for your own benefit.” The Hebrew is literally, “you are wise for you,” but the meaning is for your own benefit or advantage. Being wise may help others too, but the real advantage of wisdom is to the individual who is wise. There are many times when a wise man tries to help others but his wisdom is rejected or not even recognized, in fact, evil people may call wisdom “evil,” because evil people call good, “evil” (Isa. 5:20).

“you will bear the consequences by yourself​.” That the mocker will bear the consequences of his actions seems so obvious to the wise that they may feel that it does not need to be said. However, the mocker does not think that way. Mockers, no-goods, and evil people often act in groups or gangs, getting strength and encouragement from each other. A person may do evil as part of a group, but he will bear the punishment all alone. Although this verse is meant to have immediate temporal relevance, it also has eschatological overtones, because the great benefit of being wise comes on the Day of Judgment, and the great tragedy of being a mocker also occurs on the Day of Judgment, when a person bears the consequences of his judgment alone.

Although the words “the consequences” was added for clarity, it must also be kept in mind that they exclude some things. For example, the Law is clear that the sinner must bear his sin, and that sin can have a very heavy weight to it. Mocking is a sin, and if a person mocks, they must bear that sin until they confess it and get it taken from them.