Proverbs 29:21
in Proverbs 29A servant pampered from his youth will bring grief in the end.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last.
KJV
He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.
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This verse in Proverbs 29
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Son - The Hebrew word occurs here only and is therefore of doubtful meaning. The favored slave, petted and pampered from boyhood, will claim at last the privilege, perhaps the inheritance, of sonship.
This site's exposition
A servant cannot be corrected by words alone
on Proverbs 29:19-21
"A servant cannot be corrected by words alone; though he understands, he will not respond," so the resistance is willful. Verse 20 ranks reckless speech below plain foolishness, since a fool may yet be taught while a hasty tongue outruns correction. Verse 21 closes with a warning against indulgence.
This site's exposition
A servant pampered from his youth
Barnes notes that the last word of the verse occurs only here in Scripture, so its meaning is doubtful. He reads it as a servant pampered from his youth claiming at last the place of a son. The end is grief for the house.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Formed, surrounded and coddled by delicacies and pleasures since its infancy, Israel, in spite of the [prefigured] images of the cross, "grew fat, became gross and recalcitrant," so that, finally, captivity imprisoned it among the Gentiles. "The one who is pampered in his infancy will …
The Medieval Church1 voice
He who delicately nurtures his servant from youth, etc. He who delicately nurtures his body from youth, which he ought to have subjugated to the soul, will feel this lascivious and indomitable spirit when he reaches the years of adolescence. Another translation beautifully has this …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He that delicately bringeth up his servant - Such persons are generally forgetful of their obligations, assume the rights and privileges of children, and are seldom good for any thing.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מְפַנֵּ֣ק | mefanek | [one who] pampers | H6445 → | |
| מִנֹּ֣עַר | minoar | from youth | H5290 → | |
| עַבְדּ֑וֹ | avdo | slave his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וְ֝אַחֲרִית֗וֹ | veacharito | and end his | H319 → | 61 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מָנֽוֹן׃ | manon | trouble | H4497 → |
מְפַנֵּ֣ק[one who] pampers
mefanekH6445 →
מִנֹּ֣עַרfrom youth
minoarH5290 →
עַבְדּ֑וֹslave his
avdoH5650 →799 times
וְ֝אַחֲרִית֗וֹand end his
veacharitoH319 →61 times
יִהְיֶ֥הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
מָנֽוֹן׃trouble
manonH4497 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 38; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.