Proverbs 19 · Verse 13

Proverbs 19:13

A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
Proverbs 19:13, King James Version

Proverbs 19:13 in other translations

BSBA foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
WEBA foolish son is the calamity of his father. A wife’s quarrels are a continual dripping.
ASVA foolish son is the calamity of his father; And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
YLTA calamity to his father is a foolish son, And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
DARBYA foolish son is the calamity of his father; and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
BBEA foolish son is the destruction of his father; and the bitter arguments of a wife are like drops of rain falling without end.
WebsterA foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

What does Proverbs 19:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
13. calamity--literally, "calamities," varied and many. continual dropping--a perpetual annoyance, wearing out patience.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 The contentions of a wife are a continual dropping - The man who has got such a wife is like a tenant who has got a cottage with a bad roof through every part of which the rain either drops or pours. He can neither sit, stand work, nor sleep, without being exposed to these droppings. God help the man who is in such a case, with house or wife!

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
It shows the vanity of the world, that we are liable to the greatest griefs where we promise ourselves the greatest comfort.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 19:13 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.

הַוֹּ֣תha.Vot[is] destruction<s>H1942
לְ֭אָבִיוLe.'a.vivto father hisH1
בֵּ֣ןbena sonH1121
כְּסִ֑ילke.Sila foolH3684
וְדֶ֥לֶףve.De.lefand [are] a drippingH1812
טֹ֝רֵ֗דto.RedcontinuousH2956
מִדְיְנֵ֥יmid.ye.Nei[the] contentions ofH4079
אִשָּֽׁה\׃'i.Shaha wifeH802

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

Cross references for Proverbs 19:13

  • Proverbs 21:9

    It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

  • Proverbs 27:15

    A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

  • Proverbs 25:24

    It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.

  • 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 17:21

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

  • Proverbs 21:19

    It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.

  • 2 Samuel 13:1-18

    And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her. But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man. And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister. …

  • Proverbs 17:25

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

  • Job 14:19

    The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.

  • Proverbs 15:20

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

  • Ecclesiastes 2:18-19

    Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
foolish.
10:1; 15:20; 17:21,25; 2Sa 13:1-18:33; Ec 2:18,19
the contentions.
21:9,19; 25:24; 27:15; Job 14:19

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

Context

  • Proverbs 19:12

    The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.

  • Proverbs 19:13

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

  • Proverbs 19:14

    House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the Lord.

Read all of Proverbs 19

Proverbs 19:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Dolor es para su padre el hijo necio; y gotera continua las contiendas de la mujer.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Un fils insensé est un malheur pour son père, et les querelles d’une femme sont une gouttière continuelle.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Ein törichter Sohn ist Verderben für seinen Vater; und die Zänkereien eines Weibes sind eine beständige Traufe.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dolor patris filius stultus, et tecta jugiter perstillantia litigiosa mulier.