Proverbs 10:1
in Proverbs 10The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father; But a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
KJV
The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
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This verse in Proverbs 10
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe proverbs of Solomon - Some ancient MSS. of the Vulgate have Proverbiorum liber secundus, “The second book of the Proverbs.” The preceding nine chapters can only be considered as an introduction, if indeed they may be said to make even a part, of the proverbs of Solomon, which appear to commence only at the tenth chapter.
This site's exposition
The proverbs of Solomon
on Proverbs 10:1-5
The header “The proverbs of Solomon” marks a new collection, whose couplets set the righteous against the wicked in a single line. Its opening pair compresses the family theme of chapters 1 to 9, and the next verses turn to wealth, where “diligent hands bring wealth”.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
The Parables of Solomon. A new title is given, because a new kind of speech begins; so that not as before on individual aspects of good or evil debating at length, but in alternating verses he describes the actions of both.
A wise son makes a father glad, etc. Whoever keeps the mysteries of faith well received, gladdens God the Father; but he who stains them with evil deed or heresy, saddens the Church, his mother.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The proverbs of Solomon,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Proverbs of Solomon: A wise son makes his father happy This is the Holy One, blessed be He (Midrash); another explanation: his actual father.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִשְׁלֵ֗י | mishlei | [the] proverbs of | H4912 → | 39 times |
| שְׁלֹ֫מֹ֥ה פ | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| בֵּ֣ן | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חָ֭כָם | chakhom | wise | H2450 → | 138 times |
| יְשַׂמַּח־ | yesamach- | he makes glad | H8055 → | 155 times |
| אָ֑ב | ʾav | a father | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וּבֵ֥ן | uven | and a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| כְּ֝סִ֗יל | kesil | a fool | H3684 → | 70 times |
| תּוּגַ֥ת | tugat | [is] [the] grief of | H8424 → | 4 times |
| אִמּֽוֹ׃ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
מִשְׁלֵ֗י[the] proverbs of
mishleiH4912 →39 times
שְׁלֹ֫מֹ֥ה פSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
בֵּ֣ןa son
benH1121 →4930 times
חָ֭כָםwise
chakhomH2450 →138 times
יְשַׂמַּח־he makes glad
yesamach-H8055 →155 times
אָ֑בa father
ʾavH1 →1212 times
וּבֵ֥ןand a son
uvenH1121 →4930 times
כְּ֝סִ֗ילa fool
kesilH3684 →70 times
תּוּגַ֥ת[is] [the] grief of
tugatH8424 →4 times
אִמּֽוֹ׃mother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 29:15A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
it leads to
- Proverbs 17:25
A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
- Proverbs 29:17
Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will bring delight to your soul.
- Proverbs 22:15
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
- Proverbs 13:24
He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
- Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
- Proverbs 17:25
Through
Proverbs 29:3A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:20
A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 27:11
Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, so that I can answer him who taunts me.
- Proverbs 15:20
Through
Proverbs 1:1These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel,
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 28:5
And of all my sons—for the LORD has given me many sons—He has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
- 1 Chronicles 28:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this chapter
About Proverbs

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
