Proverbs 3:35
in Proverbs 3The wise will inherit honor, but fools are held up to shame.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The wise shall inherit glory; But shame shall be the promotion of fools.
KJV
The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
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This verse in Proverbs 3
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThey will not simply obtain, but inherit. The wicked, again, even though they are exalted, are exalted only so as to have greater dishonour. For as one does not honour an ugly and mis-shapen fellow, if he exalts him, but only dishonours him the more, by making his shame manifest to a larger number; so also God exalts the wicked, in order that He may make their disgrace patent. For Pharaoh was exalted, but only to have the world as his accuser.
This site's exposition
The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked
on Proverbs 3:33-35
The words “gives grace to the humble” are quoted at James 4:6 and again at 1 Peter 5:5, both beside “God opposes the proud”. “The wise will inherit honor, but fools are held up to shame” closes on the either-or kept in view.
This site's exposition
The wise will inherit honor
Hippolytus of Rome marks the verb: the wise inherit honor as a son inherits. The wicked are raised up only to make their shame seen by more. He names Pharaoh, raised high so that the world would accuse him.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"The wise will inherit honor, etc." And the Lord says: "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14 and 18).
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The wise shall inherit glory,.... The wise are the same with the just and lowly before mentioned, to whom God gives grace, and to these he gives glory.
5 Trust in the L ORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. We are here taught to live a life of communion with God; and without controversy great is this mystery of godliness, and of great consequence to us, and, as is here shown, will be of unspeakable advantage.
(1.) Saints are wise men, and act wisely for themselves; for though their religion now wraps them up in obscurity, and lays them open to reproach, yet they are sure to inherit glory at last, the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The wise - The person who follows the dictates of wisdom, as mentioned above, shall inherit glory; because, being one of the heavenly family, a child of God, he has thereby heaven for his inheritance; but fools, such as those mentioned chapters 1 and 2, shall have ignominy for their exaltation. Many such fools as Solomon speaks of are exalted to the gibbet and gallows. The way to prevent this and the like evils, is to attend to the voice of wisdom.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
inherit--as a portion. shame--or disgrace, as opposed to honor. promotion--(Compare Margin); as honor for well-doing makes men conspicuous, so fools are signalized by disgrace.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּ֭בוֹד | kavod | honor | H3519 → | 200 times |
| חֲכָמִ֣ים | chakhamim | wise [people] | H2450 → | 138 times |
| יִנְחָ֑לוּ | yinchalu | they will inherit | H5157 → | 59 times |
| וּ֝כְסִילִ֗ים | ukhesilim | and fools | H3684 → | 70 times |
| מֵרִ֥ים | merim | [is] lifting up | H7311 → | 190 times |
| קָלֽוֹן׃ פ | kalon | shame | H7036 → | 17 times |
כָּ֭בוֹדhonor
kavodH3519 →200 times
חֲכָמִ֣יםwise [people]
chakhamimH2450 →138 times
יִנְחָ֑לוּthey will inherit
yinchaluH5157 →59 times
וּ֝כְסִילִ֗יםand fools
ukhesilimH3684 →70 times
מֵרִ֥ים[is] lifting up
merimH7311 →190 times
קָלֽוֹן׃ פshame
kalonH7036 →17 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
1 Samuel 2:30Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it…
it leads to
- John 12:26
If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
- Jeremiah 18:9–10
And if at another time I announce that I will build up and establish a nation or kingdom,
- Proverbs 3:9–10
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest;
- John 12:26
Through
Psalms 73:24You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.
it leads to
- Psalms 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
- Isaiah 58:11
The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
- Proverbs 3:5–6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
- Psalms 48:14
For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even till death.
- Isaiah 48:17
Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who directs you in the way you should go.
- Psalms 32:8
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.