Proverbs 17 · Verse 21

Proverbs 17:21

He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
Proverbs 17:21, King James Version

Proverbs 17:21 in other translations

BSBA man fathers a fool to his own grief; the father of a fool has no joy.
WEBHe who becomes the father of a fool grieves. The father of a fool has no joy.
ASVHe that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow; And the father of a fool hath no joy.
YLTWhoso is begetting a fool hath affliction for it, Yea, the father of a fool rejoiceth not.
DARBYHe that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow, and the father of a vile man hath no joy.
BBEHe who has an unwise son gets sorrow for himself, and the father of a foolish son has no joy.
WebsterHe that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.

What does Proverbs 17:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
21. (Compare Pr 23:24). Different words are rendered by "fool," both denoting stupidity and impiety.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
This speaks very plainly what many wise and good men feel very strongly, how grievous it is to have a foolish, wicked child.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 17:21 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יֹלֵ֣דyo.Led[one who] begetsH3205
כְּ֭סִילKe.sila foolH3684
לְת֣וּגָהle.Tu.gahto griefH8424
ל֑וֹloof him
וְלֹֽא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
יִ֝שְׂמַ֗חyis.Machhe rejoicesH8055
אֲבִ֣י'a.Vi[the] father ofH1
נָבָֽל\׃na.Vala foolH5036

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Proverbs 17:21

  • Proverbs 10:1

    The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

  • Proverbs 19:13

    A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

  • Proverbs 15:20

    A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.

  • Proverbs 17:25

    A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.

  • Genesis 26:34

    And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

  • 1 Samuel 2:32-35

    And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

  • Proverbs 23:15-16

    My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.

  • 3 John 1:4

    I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

  • 2 Corinthians 2:3

    And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.

  • Philemon 1:19-20

    I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.

  • 2 Samuel 18:33

    And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
that.
25; 10:1; 15:20; 19:13; Ge 26:34; 1Sa 2:32-35; 8:3; 2Sa 18:33
hath.
23:15,16; 2Co 2:3; Phm 1:19,20; 3Jo 1:4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Proverbs 17:20

    He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.

  • Proverbs 17:21

    He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.

  • Proverbs 17:22

    A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Read all of Proverbs 17

Proverbs 17:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		El que engendra al necio, para su tristeza lo engendra: y el padre del fatuo no se alegrará.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Celui qui engendre un sot l’engendre pour son chagrin; et le père d’un homme vil ne se réjouira pas.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Wer einen Toren zeugt, dem wird es zum Kummer, und der Vater eines Narren hat keine Freude.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Natus est stultus in ignominiam suam; sed nec pater in fatuo lætabitur.