A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.
Parallel Translations
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A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.
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A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
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A wise son maketh a glad father; but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Proverbs 15:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 29:3 Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father; but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
- Proverbs 10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father; but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.
- Proverbs 23:15-16 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad, even mine. Yes, my heart will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
- Leviticus 19:3 “ ‘Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am Yahweh your God.
- 1 Kings 1:48 Also thus said the king, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne today, my eyes even seeing it.’ ”
- 1 Kings 5:7 When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, “Blessed is Yahweh today, who has given to David a wise son to rule over this great people.”
- Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
- Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
- 1 Kings 2:9 Now therefore don’t hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.”
- Proverbs 30:17 “The eye that mocks at his father, and scorns obedience to his mother: the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, the young eagles shall eat it.
- Philippians 2:22 But you know the proof of him, that as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 15:20 A wise son maketh a glad father:…
Pro 15:20 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
Ver. 20. A wise son maketh a glad father.] {See Trapp on "Pro 10:1"}
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 Maketh a glad father, by giving him that honour…
Maketh a glad father, by giving him that honour and obedience which he oweth to him.
Despiseth his mother; whereby he maketh her sad. See Poole "Pro 10:1", where we have the same proverb.
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 Observe here, 1. To the praise of good children,…
Observe here, 1. To the praise of good children, that they are the joy of their parents, who ought to have joy of them, having taken so much care and pains about them. And it adds much to the satisfaction of those that are good if they have reason to think that they have been a comfort to their parents in their declining years, when evil days come. 2. To the shame of wicked children, that by their wickedness they put contempt upon their parents, slight their authority, and make an ill requital for their kindness: A foolish son despises his mother, that had most sorrow with him and perhaps had too much indulged him, which makes his sin in despising her the more sinful and her sorrow the more sorrowful.
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 A wise son maketh a glad father,.... See Gill…
A wise son maketh a glad father,.... See Gill on Pro 10:1;
but a foolish man despiseth his mother; that bore him and brought him up, and perhaps was too indulgent to him; which aggravates his sin and her sorrow; See Gill on Pro 10:1; or causes her to be despised by others, as Jarchi interprets it; such a man's sin, which is great folly, and shows him to be a foolish man, is highly resented by the Lord, and will be severely punished; see Pro 30:17. The Targum is,
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"a foolish son despises his mother;''
and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, which makes the antithesis more clear; and the Hebrew text designs one grown up to man's estate.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 15:20-21. A wise son, &c. — See the…
Pro 15:20-21. A wise son, &c. — See the note on chap. 10:1, where we have the same proverb. Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom —
He not only works wickedness, but takes pleasure in doing it; but a man of understanding walketh uprightly — Hebrew, יישׁר לכת, directeth, or maketh straight, his going; that is, ordereth all his actions by the rule of God’s word, and delights in so doing, as may be understood from the opposite clause.
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 To “despise” a mother is to cause her the…
To “despise” a mother is to cause her the deepest grief, and is therefore not unfitly contrasted with “making a glad father.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain Do not the brightest joys,†1 and the bitterest sorrows†2…
Do not the brightest joys,†1 and the bitterest sorrows†2 in this world of tears, flow from parents’ hearts? Whatever be the delight to see a son prospering in life; the Christian father finds no rest, until a wise son maketh him glad. And here we need not any development of talent, or superior attainment, but the true wisdom; humble and docile, marked (as the contrast suggests) by filial reverence, specially by the cordial choice of that, which "is the beginning of wisdom — the fear of the LORD." Such a son does indeed rejoice his father, as he watches, with equal pleasure and thankfulness, the daily growth and healthiness of his choice vine.
But what if folly, instead of gladdening, despise a mother†3 — her, whose tender love,†4 and yearning faithfulness,†5 are a faint picture of the heart of God? The law of God commands honour†6 and reverence,†7 and the transgression of the law will not be forgotten.†8 But is not this neglect a chastening rebuke for capricious indulgence? What grace and wisdom is needed, that the parents may be a valuable blessing to their children for their highest interests! A single eye is the primary concern.
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Footnotes:
†1 Pro 10:1; Pro 23:24 . 1Ki 1:48 .
†2 Pro 17:25. 2Sa 18:33 .
†3 Pro 19:26. Pro 23:22 .
†4 Isa 66:13.
†5 Isa 49:15.
†6 Exo 20:12.
†7 Lev 19:3.
†8 Pro 20:20; Pro 30:17 . Eze 22:7 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (Compare Pro 10:1).
(Compare Pro 10:1).
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 20. Maketh… glad — Gladdens. This is much the…
20. Maketh… glad — Gladdens. This is much the same as Pro_10:1, where see note.
Despiseth his mother — The original is very forcible, and might be rendered, But a fool of a man is hev who treats his mother with contempt, by neglecting her affectionate counsels.
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 20. despiseth] and so maketh her sad, in latent…
20. despiseth] and so maketh her sad, in latent contrast with the first clause of the verse.
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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Ver. 20-ch. Pro_10:1. A foolish man despiseth his mother,…
Ver. 20-ch. Pro_10:1. A foolish man despiseth his mother, and therefore is "heaviness" to her. Or the verb may mean "shameth." "A foolish man" is literally "a fool of a man."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain v. 20. A wise son maketh a glad father,…
v. 20. A wise son maketh a glad father, Pro 10:1; but a foolish man despiseth his mother, such neglect and contempt of his mother proving him to be a fool of a man, not only on account of the transgression of the Fourth Commandment involved, but because the wisdom and love of a mother serves for The best guidance.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.