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Proverbs 13:20

in Proverbs 13

He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Walk with wise men, and thou shalt be wise; But the companion of fools shall smart for it.

KJV

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

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This verse in Proverbs 13

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

He who walks with the wise will become wise

on Proverbs 13:20-22

“He who walks with the wise will become wise,” but “the companion of fools will be destroyed” by the company he keeps. The cluster closes on generations: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,” but “the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous”.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Proverbs · Written before 735.

proposed

He who walks with the wise will be wise, etc. To walk with the wise is to imitate the actions of the wise. Therefore, however simple and rustic one may be, who cannot comprehend the secrets of wisdom, if he nevertheless follows the examples of …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise - To walk with a person implies love and attachment; and it is impossible not to imitate those we love. So we say, “Show me his company, and I’ll tell you the man.” Let me know the company he keeps, and I shall easily guess his moral character.

The words behind it

7 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • הוֹלֵ֣ךְ[one who] walks

    halokhH1980 →1546 times

  • אֶת־with

    ʾet-H854 →929 times

  • חֲכָמִ֣יםwise [people]

    chakhamimH2450 →138 times

  • יֶחְכָּ֑םhe will become wise

    vachakhamH2449 →27 times

  • וְרֹעֶ֖הand [one who] associates with

    veroehH7462 →177 times

  • כְסִילִ֣יםfools

    khesilimH3684 →70 times

  • יֵרֽוֹעַ׃he will be harmed

    yeroa'H7489 →107 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Psalms 1:1Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.181 works1 Corinthians 15:33Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”130 worksProverbs 15:31He who listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.60 worksProverbs 9:6Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.”56 works2 Corinthians 6:14–18Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?51 worksPsalms 119:63I am a friend to all who fear You, and to those who keep Your precepts.35 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Revelation 18:4Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.32 worksProverbs 1:11–19If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,23 worksMalachi 3:16At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name.23 worksHebrews 10:24And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.19 worksProverbs 7:22–23He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap,18 works1 Kings 12:8But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him.17 worksActs 2:42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.17 worksProverbs 2:12–20to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perversity,15 worksGenesis 13:12–13Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom.15 works1 Kings 12:10The young men who had grown up with him replied, “This is how you should answer these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you should make it lighter.’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!15 worksProverbs 7:27Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.12 worksProverbs 4:14Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.12 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Psalms 119:63

    I am a friend to all who fear You, and to those who keep Your precepts.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 101:6

      My eyes favor the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way of integrity shall minister to me.

    • Malachi 3:16–18

      At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD…

    • 1 John 1:3

      We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

    • Psalms 119:79

      May those who fear You turn to me, those who know Your testimonies.

    • Psalms 142:7

      Free my soul from prison, that I may praise Your name. The righteous will gather around me because of Your goodness to me.

  • Through

    Proverbs 15:31

    He who listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 15:5

      A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction is prudent.

    • Proverbs 25:12

      Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.

  • Through

    Proverbs 9:6

    Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.”

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 4:11

      I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths.

Where this verse is studied

About Proverbs

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Proverbs: the study guide →Read Proverbs 13 →

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 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).

Read on in Proverbs 13 →