Proverbs 11:29
in Proverbs 11He who brings trouble on his house will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind; And the foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.
KJV
He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHe 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.
This site's exposition
He who trusts in his riches will fall
on Proverbs 11:28-29
“He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage,” the same contrast the Psalms draw. “He who brings trouble on his house will inherit the wind,” since wind is all a man holds once he has driven off everything solid.
This site's exposition
He who brings trouble on his house will inherit the wind
John Gill lists the ways a man troubles his house: harshness, idleness, greed and waste. His inheritance is wind, which slips through the hand. Such a fool ends as servant to the wise of heart.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, etc. He who does not fear his mind to be disturbed by the tumult of great thoughts, indeed opens it to the blasts of evil spirits by which it may be overwhelmed. And he who …
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
troubleth--as Pr 15:27 explains, by greediness for gain (compare Pr 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.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The scope of the whole is a comment on Pr 11:23. Thus liberality, by God's blessing, secures increase, while penuriousness, instead of expected gain, procures poverty.
Shalt inherit the wind - He who dissipates his property by riotous living, shall be as unsatisfied as he who attempts to feed upon air.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עוֹכֵ֣ר | okher | [one who] troubles | H5916 → | 14 times |
| בֵּ֭יתוֹ | beito | household his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִנְחַל־ | yinchal- | he will inherit | H5157 → | 59 times |
| ר֑וּחַ | ruach | wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| וְעֶ֥בֶד | veeved | and [will be] a servant | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֱ֝וִ֗יל | ʾevil | a fool | H191 → | 26 times |
| לַחֲכַם־ | lachakham- | of [the] wise of | H2450 → | 138 times |
| לֵֽב׃ | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
עוֹכֵ֣ר[one who] troubles
okherH5916 →14 times
בֵּ֭יתוֹhousehold his
beitoH1004 →2046 times
יִנְחַל־he will inherit
yinchal-H5157 →59 times
ר֑וּחַwind
ruachH7307 →378 times
וְעֶ֥בֶדand [will be] a servant
veevedH5650 →799 times
אֱ֝וִ֗ילa fool
ʾevilH191 →26 times
לַחֲכַם־of [the] wise of
lachakham-H2450 →138 times
לֵֽב׃heart
levH3820 →595 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
Hosea 8:7For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:8
He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
- Job 4:8
As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
- Galatians 6:7
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
- Nahum 1:3
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath…
- Proverbs 22:8
Through
Proverbs 15:27He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:8
Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
- Proverbs 1:19
Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.
- Exodus 23:8
Through
Proverbs 14:19The evil bow before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
it leads to
- Genesis 42:6
Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the…
- Malachi 4:3
Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Genesis 42:6
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.