Proverbs 15:20

Pro 15:20 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.

Ver. 20. A wise son maketh a glad father.] {See Trapp on "Pro 10:1"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pro 15:20-21. A wise son, &c. — See the note on chap. 10:1, where we have the same proverb. Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom —

He not only works wickedness, but takes pleasure in doing it; but a man of understanding walketh uprightly — Hebrew, יישׁר לכת, directeth, or maketh straight, his going; that is, ordereth all his actions by the rule of God’s word, and delights in so doing, as may be understood from the opposite clause.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This collection of Solomonic proverbs began, Pro 10:1, with a proverb having reference to the observance of the fourth commandment,

(Note: The fifth commandment of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is named as the fourth in Luther's catechism.)

and a second chief section, Pro 13:1, began in the same way. Here a proverb of the same kind designates the beginning of a third chief section. That the editor was aware of this is shown by the homogeneity of the proverbs, Pro 15:19; Pro 12:28, which form the conclusion of the first and second sections. We place together first in this new section, Pro 15:20-23, in which (with the exception of Pro 15:25) the ישׂמח [maketh glad] of the first (Pro 10:1) is continued.

Pro 15:20

20 A wise son maketh a glad father,

And a fool of a man despiseth his mother.

Line first = Pro 10:1. The gen. connection of כּסיל אדם (here and at Pro 21:20) is not superlative the most foolish of men, but like פּרא אדם, Gen 16:12; the latter: a man of the wild ass kind; the former: a man of the fool kind, who is the exemplar of such a sort among men. Piety acting in willing subordination is wisdom, and the contrary exceeding folly.

Pro 15:21

21 Folly is joy to him that is devoid of understanding;

But a man of understanding goeth straight forward.

Regarding חסר־לב, vid., at Pro 6:32 (cf. libı̂b, which in the Samaritan means "dearly beloved," in Syr. "courageous," in Arab. and Aethiop. cordatus); אישׁ תּבוּנה, Pro 10:23, and ישּׁר, with the accus. of the way, here of the going, Pro 3:6 (but not Pro 11:5, where the going itself is not the subject). In consequence of the contrast, the meaning of 21a is different from that of Pro 10:23, according to which sin is to the fool as the sport of a child. Here אוּלת is folly and buffoonery, drawing aside in every kind of way from the direct path of that which is good, and especially from the path of one's duty. This gives joy to the fool; he is thereby drawn away from the earnest and faithful performance of the duties of his calling, and thus wastes time and strength; while, on the contrary, a man of understanding, who perceives and rejects the vanity and unworthiness of such trifling and such nonsense, keeps the straight direction of his going, i.e., without being drawn aside or kept back, goes straight forward, i.e., true to duty, prosecutes the end of his calling. לכת is accus., like Pro 30:29, Mic 6:8.

Pro 15:22

22 A breaking of plans where no counsel is;

But where many counsellors are they come to pass.

On the other side it is also true according to the proverbs, "so viel Kpfe so viel Sinne" [quot homines, tot sententiae], and "viel Rath ist Unrath" [ne quid nimis], and the like. But it cannot become a rule of morals not to accept of counsel that we may not go astray; on the contrary, it is and remains a rule of morals: not stubbornly to follow one's own heart (head), and not obstinately to carry out one's own will, and not in the darkness of wisdom to regard one's own plans as unimproveable, and not needing to be examined; but to listen to the counsel of intelligent and honest friends, and, especially where weighty matters are in hand, not affecting one's own person, but the common good, not to listen merely to one counsellor, but to many. Not merely the organism of the modern state, but also of old the Mosaic arrangement of the Israelitish community, with its representative organization, its courts and councils, rested on the acknowledged justice and importance of the saying uttered in Pro 11:14, and here generalized. הפר, infin. abs. Hiph. of פּרר, to break, with the accus. following, stands here, like הפוך, Pro 12:7, instead of the finite: the thoughts come to a fracture (failure), irrita fiunt consilia. סוד (= יסוד, cf. נוסד Psa 2:2) means properly the being brought close together for the purpose of secret communication and counsel (cf. Arab. sâwada, to press close together = to walk with one privately). The lxx: their plans are unexecuted, οἱ μὴ τιμῶντες συνέδρια, literally Symmachus, διασκεδάζονται λογισμοὶ μὴ ὄντος συμβουλίου. תּקוּם has, after Jer 4:14; Jer 51:29, מחשׁבות as subject. The lxx (besides perverting ברב [by a multitude] into בלב ἐν καρδίαις]), the Syr. and Targ. introduce עצה (Pro 19:21) as subject.

Pro 15:23

23 A man has joy by the right answer of his mouth;

And a word in its season, how fair is it!

If we translate מענה only by "answer," then 23a sounds as a praise of self-complaisance; but it is used of true correspondence (Pro 29:19), of fit reply (Job 32:3, Job 32:5), of appropriate answer (cf. 28a, Pro 16:1). It has happened to one in his reply to hit the nail on its head, and he has joy from that (שׂמחה ב after שׂמח בּ, e.g., Pro 23:24), and with right; for the reply does not always succeed. A reply like this, which, according to circumstances, stops the mouth or bringeth a kiss (Pro 24:26), is a fortunate throw, is a gift from above. The synonymous parallel line measures that which is appropriate, not to that which is to be answered, but from a general point of view as to its seasonableness; עת (= עדת from יעד) is here "the ethically right, becoming time, determined by the laws of wisdom (moral)" (vid., Orelli, Synonyma der Zeit u. Ewigkeit, p. 48), cf. על־אפניו (translated by Luther 'in its time"), Pro 25:11. With מה־טּוב, cf. Pro 16:16; both ideas lie in it: that such a word is in itself well-conditioned and successful, and also that it is welcome, agreeable, and of beneficial influence.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Observe here, 1. To the praise of good children, that they are the joy of their parents, who ought to have joy of them, having taken so much care and pains about them. And it adds much to the satisfaction of those that are good if they have reason to think that they have been a comfort to their parents in their declining years, when evil days come. 2. To the shame of wicked children, that by their wickedness they put contempt upon their parents, slight their authority, and make an ill requital for their kindness: A foolish son despises his mother, that had most sorrow with him and perhaps had too much indulged him, which makes his sin in despising her the more sinful and her sorrow the more sorrowful.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(Compare Pro 10:1).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

20. despiseth] and so maketh her sad, in latent contrast with the first clause of the verse.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A wise son maketh a glad father,.... See Gill on Pro 10:1;

but a foolish man despiseth his mother; that bore him and brought him up, and perhaps was too indulgent to him; which aggravates his sin and her sorrow; See Gill on Pro 10:1; or causes her to be despised by others, as Jarchi interprets it; such a man's sin, which is great folly, and shows him to be a foolish man, is highly resented by the Lord, and will be severely punished; see Pro 30:17. The Targum is,

"a foolish son despises his mother;''

and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, which makes the antithesis more clear; and the Hebrew text designs one grown up to man's estate.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

To “despise” a mother is to cause her the deepest grief, and is therefore not unfitly contrasted with “making a glad father.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Maketh a glad father, by giving him that honour and obedience which he oweth to him.

Despiseth his mother; whereby he maketh her sad. See Poole "Pro 10:1", where we have the same proverb.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. Maketh… glad — Gladdens. This is much the same as Pro_10:1, where see note.

Despiseth his mother — The original is very forcible, and might be rendered, But a fool of a man is hev who treats his mother with contempt, by neglecting her affectionate counsels.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ver. 20-ch. Pro_10:1. A foolish man despiseth his mother, and therefore is "heaviness" to her. Or the verb may mean "shameth." "A foolish man" is literally "a fool of a man."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Do not the brightest joys,†1 and the bitterest sorrows†2 in this world of tears, flow from parents’ hearts? Whatever be the delight to see a son prospering in life; the Christian father finds no rest, until a wise son maketh him glad. And here we need not any development of talent, or superior attainment, but the true wisdom; humble and docile, marked (as the contrast suggests) by filial reverence, specially by the cordial choice of that, which "is the beginning of wisdom — the fear of the LORD." Such a son does indeed rejoice his father, as he watches, with equal pleasure and thankfulness, the daily growth and healthiness of his choice vine.

But what if folly, instead of gladdening, despise a mother†3 — her, whose tender love,†4 and yearning faithfulness,†5 are a faint picture of the heart of God? The law of God commands honour†6 and reverence,†7 and the transgression of the law will not be forgotten.†8 But is not this neglect a chastening rebuke for capricious indulgence? What grace and wisdom is needed, that the parents may be a valuable blessing to their children for their highest interests! A single eye is the primary concern.

Footnotes:

†1 Pro 10:1; Pro 23:24 . 1Ki 1:48 .

†2 Pro 17:25. 2Sa 18:33 .

†3 Pro 19:26. Pro 23:22 .

†4 Isa 66:13.

†5 Isa 49:15.

†6 Exo 20:12.

†7 Lev 19:3.

†8 Pro 20:20; Pro 30:17 . Eze 22:7 .

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

v. 20. A wise son maketh a glad father, Pro 10:1; but a foolish man despiseth his mother, such neglect and contempt of his mother proving him to be a fool of a man, not only on account of the transgression of the Fourth Commandment involved, but because the wisdom and love of a mother serves for The best guidance.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A wise son makes his father happy, but a foolish person despises his mother He causes people to despise his mother.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.