He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.
Parallel Translations
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He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.
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He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
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He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind; and the foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Proverbs 11:29 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ecclesiastes 5:16 This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?
- Proverbs 14:19 The evil bow down before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
- Proverbs 15:27 He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live.
- Habakkuk 2:9-10 Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil! You have devised shame to your house, by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul.
- Joshua 7:24-25 Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? Yahweh will trouble you today.” All Israel stoned him with stones, and they burned them with fire and stoned them with stones.
- 1 Samuel 25:3 Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail. This woman was intelligent and had a beautiful face; but the man was surly and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.
- 1 Samuel 25:17 Now therefore know and consider what you will do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house; for he is such a worthless fellow that one can’t speak to him.”
- 1 Samuel 25:38 About ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal, so that he died.
- Hosea 8:7 For they sow the wind, and they will reap the whirlwind. He has no standing grain. The stalk will yield no head. If it does yield, strangers will swallow it up.
- Genesis 34:30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (20 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For though the wicked be rich, yet are they…
For though the wicked be rich, yet are they but slaves to the godly, which are the true possessors of the gifts of God.
The covetous men that spare their riches to the hindrance of their families, shall be deprived thereof miserably.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 11:29 He that troubleth his own house shall…
Pro 11:29 He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool [shall be] servant to the wise of heart.
Ver. 29. He that troubleth his own house.] Either by prodigality, or excessive parsimony. Prodigi singulis auribus bina aut terna dependent patrimonia, saith Seneca. We have known great rents soon turned into great ruffs, and lands into laces. For parsimony and cruelty, {See Trapp on "Pro 15:27"}
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Shall inherit the wind.] That is, Shall bring all to nothing, as he did that, having wasted his estate, vainly vaunted that he had left himself nothing, praeter coelum et caenum. {a} His substance shall fly up like smoke into the air, and nothing be left to maintain him on earth. And when all his goods are gone, his liberty must go after - for this "fool shall be servant to the wise in heart" - if not, his life; as that notorious unthrift, Apicius, who having eaten up his estate, and finding by his account that he had no more than two hundred thousand crowns remaining, thought himself poor, and took down a glass of poison. {b}
{a} Livius.
{b} Dio.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain He that troubleth his own house; he who bringeth…
He that troubleth his own house; he who bringeth trouble and misery upon himself and children, either,
1. By carelessness, slothfulness, improvidence, prodigality, or any wickedness, whereby he consumeth his estate. So this troubling of his house may be opposed to a man’s building of his house, Jer 29:28. Or,
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2. By covetous desires and restless endeavours to heap up riches, whereby he greatly tires and troubles both himself and all his family with excessive cares and labours, which is called coveting an evil covetousness to his house, Hab 2:9.
Shall inherit the wind; shall be as unable to keep and enjoy what he gets as a man is to hold the wind in his fist, or to feed and satisfy himself with it; he shall be brought to poverty.
The fool shall be servant to the wise of heart; by which means such a troublesome fool shall through his extreme necessity be forced even to sell himself to such as are wiser.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Two extremes in the management of family-affairs are here…
Two extremes in the management of family-affairs are here condemned and the ill consequences of them foretold: - 1. Carefulness and carnal policy, on the one hand. There are those that by their extreme earnestness in pursuit of the world, their anxiety about their business and fretfulness about their losses, their strictness with their servants and their niggardliness towards their families, trouble their own houses and give continual vexation to all about them; while others think, by supporting factions and feuds in their families, which are really a trouble to their houses, to serve some turn for themselves, and either to get or to save by it. But they will both be disappointed; they will inherit the wind. All they will get by these arts will not only be empty and worthless as the wind, but noisy and troublesome, vanity and vexation. 2. Carelessness and want of common prudence, on the other. He that is a fool in his business, that either minds it not or goes awkwardly about it, that has no contrivance and consideration, no only loses his reputation and interest, but becomes a servant to the wise in heart. He is impoverished, and forced to work for his living; while those that manage wisely raise themselves, and come to have dominion over him, and others like him. It is rational, and very fit, that the fool should be servant to the wise in heart, and upon that account, among others, we are bound to submit our wills to the will of God, and to be subject to him, because we are fools and he is infinitely wise.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain He that troubleth his own house,.... His family, his…
He that troubleth his own house,.... His family, his wife, and children, and servants; by being bitter to the one, and by provoking the others to wrath, and continually giving out menacing words to the rest; or through idleness, not providing for his family; or through an over worldly spirit, pushing on business, and hurrying it on beyond measure; or through a niggardly and avaricious temper, withholding meat and drink, and clothes convenient for them; see Pro 15:27; or through profuseness and prodigality. Such an one
shall inherit the wind; nothing but vanity and emptiness; he shall come to nothing, and get nothing; and what he does, be shall not keep, and on which he cannot live;
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and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart; he who has both got and lost his substance in a foolish way shall be so reduced as to become a servant to him who has pursued wise measures, both in getting and keeping what he has; and to whom perhaps the fool formerly stood in the relation of a master. Such a change will be with respect to antichrist and the saints, Dan 7:25.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Troubleth - He who brings trouble upon himself and…
Troubleth - He who brings trouble upon himself and children, either by prodigality, or by restless endeavours to heap up riches. Wind - Shall be as unable to keep what he gets as a man is to hold the wind in his hand.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 29. Shall inherit the wind] He who dissipates…
Verse 29. Shall inherit the wind] He who dissipates his property by riotous living, shall be as unsatisfied as he who attempts to feed upon air.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 11:29. He that troubleth his own house —…
Pro 11:29. He that troubleth his own house — He who brings trouble upon himself and children; either, 1st, By carelessness, sloth, improvidence, prodigality, or any wickedness, whereby he consumes his estate: or, 2d, By covetous desires, and restless endeavours to heap up riches, whereby he greatly harasses and distresses both himself and his family with excessive cares and labours; shall inherit the wind — Shall be as unable to keep and enjoy what he gets, as a man is to hold the wind in his fist, or to feed and satisfy himself with it: he shall be brought to poverty. And the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart — A person so destitute of prudence or industry, shall, through his extreme necessity, be obliged to work hard for his living, and to become a servant to such as are more diligent in pursuing, and more discreet in managing their worldly affairs.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain He that troubleth ... - The temper, nigardly and…
He that troubleth ... - The temper, nigardly and worrying, which leads a man to make those about him miserable, and proves but bad economy in the end.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain A house at unity with itself, flourishes under the…
A house at unity with itself, flourishes under the special favor of God. (Psa 133:1-3 .) But a house troubled with division, "cometh to desolation." (Mat 12:25 .) Often also the irreligion or ungoverned passion of the head blights the comfort of the family. (1Sa 25:17 .) Indeed he cannot neglect his own soul without injury to his house. He deprives them of the blessing of holy prayers and godly example; while he troubles them with the positive mischief of his ungodliness, and himself inherits the wind in utter disappointment. (Hos 8:7 .) Thus did the rebellion of Korah (Num 16:32-33 ); the sin of Achan (Jos 7:24-25 ); the neglect of Eli (1Sa 2:32-33 ); the wickedness of Jeroboam and Ahab (1Ki 14:9-11 ; 1Ki 21:20-22 ); the perverseness of the re-builder of Jericho (1Ki 16:34 ) trouble their house to its ruin. Prayerless, careless Parents! ponder the responsibility of bringing a curse, instead of a blessing, upon your families. What! if your "root should be as rottenness, and your blossom go up as dust"? (Isa 5:24 .) What if a man, instead of building up his house, should be ’so foolish as to mispend himself, and come to be a servant at the last to him that is wise to get and keep his own?’†1 Such retributions have been known (Luk 15:13-15 ) for the abuse of the gifts of God and the neglect of Christian responsibility.
Footnotes:
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†1 Bishop Hall. Compare Pro 17:2 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain House. By his profligacy, or law-suits, shall be impoverished,…
House. By his profligacy, or law-suits, shall be impoverished, (ver. 17.; Calmet) or if he act with violence, he will make his house empty, Ecclesiasticus iv. 35. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain troubleth--as Pro 15:27 explains, by greediness for gain (compare…
troubleth--as Pro 15:27 explains, by greediness for gain (compare Pro 11:17).
inherit . . . wind--Even successful, his gains are of no real value. So the fool, thus acting, either comes to poverty, or heaps up for others.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 29. He that troubleth his own house — By…
29. He that troubleth his own house — By mismanagement, bad temper, want of industry, extravagance, avarice, or any other means.
Shall inherit the wind — Which was an emblem of emptiness or nothingness.
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Shall be servant — Patrick refers the first part to him who makes or cherishes dissensions and factions in his house. It may mean any unwise or bad conduct, as drunkenness, for instance, whereby a man troubles and impoverishes his family. Compare Pro_11:24; Ecc_5:16.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 29. troubleth] by churlish and niggardly ways. Comp. the…
29. troubleth] by churlish and niggardly ways. Comp. the story of Nabal, 1 Samuel 25.
the wind] Which shall drive away him and his possessions, Psa_1:4; or the wind may here be used to denote that which is unsubstantial and vanishes away. Comp. Isa_41:29.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (29) He that troubleth his own house.—Possibly by his…
(29) He that troubleth his own house.—Possibly by his niggardliness and avarice, as Pro_15:27.
Shall inherit the wind.—Will get nothing for his pains.
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The fool (‘evîl).—The self-willed, who will listen to no advice, and so comes to ruin.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain He that troubleth his own house; he that annoys…
He that troubleth his own house; he that annoys and worries his family and household by niggardliness, bad management, and captious ill temper. So the Son of Sirach writes (Ecc 4:30), "Be not as a lion in thy house, nor frantic (fantasiokopwn , " suspicious") among thy servants." Septuagint, "he who has no friendly intercourse (o mh sumperiferomenov ) with his own house." Shall inherit the wind; he will be the loser in the end; no one will lend him a helping hand, and his affairs will fall to ruin. The fool the man who acts thus foolishly shall be servant to the wise of heart; to the man who administers his household matters in a better and more orderly manner. (see on Pro_12:24) It is implied that the troubler of his own house shall be reduced to such extremity as to have to apply for relief to the wise of heart. The other side of the question is given by the Son of Sirach: "Unto the servant that is wise shall they that are free do service" (Ecc 10:25). The prodigal in the parable prayed his father to make him one of his hired servants. (Luk_15:19)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the…
Pro_11:29
He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind.
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Family life
I. Peace should be the grand aim of all the members of the domestic circle. To trouble the house is an evil.
II. There Are some members who break the peace of their domestic circle. They are the ill-natured, impulsive, false, selfish.
III. Those who break the peace of their domestic circle are fools. Their folly is seen in this--
1. They get no good by it.
2. They get degradation by it. (D. Thomas, D.D.)
Troubling ones own house
There are many ways in which this may be done. A man may, by the violence and irritability, the peevishness, fretfulness, and selfishness of his temper; he may by his avarice on the one hand, or by his reckless prodigality on the other--involving his family in starvation and suffering by opposite means; he may by intemperance, with all its horrid attendants; he may by sloth, and idleness, and indisposition to work, trouble his own house. He shall inherit the wind. The expression is a very strong one. Could any words more impressively convey the idea of loss, disappointment, and ultimate destitution and beggary? The result the man deserves. A mans family is his first charge from heaven, and ought to be his chief and constant solicitude. The only evil to be lamented is that he brings the destitution upon them as well as himself. (R. Wardlaw.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_11:29
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_11:29
FOOLISH HOME RULERS
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“There are many ways of troubling one’s own house.” Many sparks fly from one anvil, but one is sufficient to set a house on fire. Some home-destroyers emit many sparks, but one evil habit or temper is enough to consume all the peace of home-life. A man may trouble his house by—
1. Selfishness. When a dry sponge is placed in a vessel of water, it will soak up every drop of water that it can hold, and very probably will leave the vessel empty. So the selfish head of a household will absorb all the comforts of the household—take to himself all the luxuries and enjoyments which ought to be distributed among all its members.
2. Hasty temper. A human father and husband that will complain at every trifle and blaze into a passion when nothing has been done or said worthy of notice, will be a great troubler of his house. He will not be heeded when there is real occasion for his displeasure. The perpetual rattle of a daily siege so dulls the ear of the soldier that he does not notice the roar of the cannon on the day of special battle. So the members of a household who are always being subjected to the rattle of an ungovernable tongue make no account of reproof when there is really an occasion for it.
3. A perpetual assertion of authority. There can be no joyful obedience in a family where its head is always insisting upon the fact that he is their master. Such a constant proclamation of right to rule makes that a bondage which would otherwise be a glad service.
4. Prodigality or niggardliness. He who wastes that which belongs to his children is a robber, and so is he who from avaricious motives deprives them of those home comforts with which he is able to furnish them. These are but samples of the many ways in which a man may trouble his house—ways which are not altogether unknown in some homes whose head is a professor of godliness. Such a man is a far-reaching curse. The members of such a home scatter themselves abroad in the world carrying with them none of the blessed influences that they ought to have received from their home-life, and are very likely in their turn to become the troublers of their houses. The gold receives its form and polish, its image and superscription at the mint. Home is the mint where the value of the character for its entire future is often impressed upon it. The child generally bears the image and superscription of his parent.
II. Such a troubler is a fool.
1. He can reap no possible advantage by it. To “inherit the wind” is to inherit cold cheer. A wintry wind is poor comfort for a man with little raiment on a cold night. Wind is an unsatisfying substitute for food to a hungry man. But a man in such a condition is an apt illustration of a man in the winter of life who has forfeited that love and honour which would have been the reward of a different course of conduct.
2. He shall go down in social position. The man who has ruled his household well must win the respect and confidence of those outside of it. It is an inevitable consequence that he will go up in the estimation of his associates while one of the opposite character will go down and so “be servant to the wise of heart.”
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
He that troubles his own house in any form of impenitence; he that takes the trouble to live without the gospel; he that chases wealth when he admits that it will breed him vengeance; he that goes through the self-denials of the world to accumulate worldly benefits which he knows are mischiefs to his soul, is absolutely “fool” enough to be the “servant” in all these trials, and that through eternal ages, of wiser and better creatures.—Miller.
He shall leave at last but the wind of his breath to deplore his folly and to beg help for his misery. St. Gregory taketh the latter part of the verse that a fool serveth the wise in heart even by ruling over him and oppressing him, for he advanceth him to a better state and condition of goodness.—Jermin.
He that would not undo himself, let him not undo his family and domestic affairs. It nearly concerneth a householder to know that his house is laden with his whole estate, that his people sail together with him in the same vessel, for his use.—Dod.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain v. 29. He that troubleth his own house, his…
v. 29. He that troubleth his own house, his avarice causing him to withhold from the members of his household their earnings or their rightful keep, shall inherit the wind, gain nothing and come to nothing; and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart, the very same miser who treated his household so niggardly coming to such straits that he is a servant to one who was not guilty of the same foolishness.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 inherit the wind
inherit the wind
The "wind" is a metaphor for something that cannot be grasped or has no value. AT: "inherit nothing" (See: Metaphor and Idiom)
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translationWords
trouble
household
inherit
fool
servant
wise
heart
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.