Proverbs 17:25
in Proverbs 17A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A foolish son is a grief to his father, And bitterness to her that bare him.
KJV
A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA foolish son is a grief to his father,.... Because of his folly and wickedness, and the ruin he is bringing himself to; and bitterness to her that bare him; a cause of bitterness of soul to his mother, more distressing than the bitter pains with which she brought him forth into the world. Jarchi, by the father, understands the blessed God; and by her that bare him, the congregation of Israel; to whom Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, was bitterness, who caused Israel to sin; see Pro 10:1.
This site's exposition
Wisdom is the focus of the discerning
on Proverbs 17:24-26
Wisdom is the focus of the discerning, while "the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth," a contrast of attention. To punish the innocent or to flog a noble is named "surely not good," an injustice the chapter states without any qualifying clause.
This site's exposition
bitterness to her who bore him
John Gill calls the bitterness of the mother worse than the pains she bore at his birth. The verse repeats the grief of the father in verse 21 and adds her who bore him. Jarchi read the father as God, Gill reports.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Compare Pro 17:21. Here is added a reference to the sorrow which the folly of a child brings especially to the mother.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כַּ֣עַס | kaas | [is] grief | H3708 → | 25 times |
| לְ֭אָבִיו | leaviv | to father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| בֵּ֣ן | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| כְּסִ֑יל | kesil | a fool | H3684 → | 70 times |
| וּ֝מֶ֗מֶר | umemer | and bitterness | H4470 → | |
| לְיוֹלַדְתּֽוֹ׃ | leyoladto | to [the] [one who] bore him | H3205 → | 496 times |
כַּ֣עַס[is] grief
kaasH3708 →25 times
לְ֭אָבִיוto father his
leavivH1 →1212 times
בֵּ֣ןa son
benH1121 →4930 times
כְּסִ֑ילa fool
kesilH3684 →70 times
וּ֝מֶ֗מֶרand bitterness
umemerH4470 →
לְיוֹלַדְתּֽוֹ׃to [the] [one who] bore him
leyoladtoH3205 →496 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 10:1The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
it leads to
- Proverbs 23:15–16
My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 29:3
A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 1:1
These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel,
- Proverbs 29:15
A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
- Proverbs 23:24–25
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
- Proverbs 23:15–16
Through
Proverbs 15:20A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:1
The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 10:1
Through
Proverbs 19:13A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:9
Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Proverbs 27:15
A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—
- Proverbs 21:9
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.