He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.
Parallel translations
- KJV He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
- BSB He who brings trouble on his house will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
- NKJV He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
- NASB One who troubles his own house will inherit wind, And the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.
- NLT Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind. The fool will be a servant to the wise.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Whoever brings trouble on his own household will inherit nothing but wind, and the fool ends up serving the wise. Folly ruins one's own home and standing.
Overview
This proverb warns that mismanaging and harming one's family yields only emptiness, and that the fool ultimately becomes subject to the wise. It underscores the practical consequences of foolish living. Wisdom that builds rather than destroys the household reflects the order and stewardship God intends for His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Eccl 5:16This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?
- Prov 14:19The evil bow down before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
- Hab 2:9–10Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
- Prov 15:27He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live.
- Josh 7:24–25Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor.
- 1 Sam 25:38About ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal, so that he died.
- 1 Sam 25:3Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail. This woman was intelligent and had a beautiful face; but the man was surly and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.
- 1 Sam 25:17Now therefore know and consider what you will do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house; for he is such a worthless fellow that one can’t speak to him.”
- Hos 8:7For they sow the wind, and they will reap the whirlwind. He has no standing grain. The stalk will yield no head. If it does yield, strangers will swallow it up.
- Gen 34:30Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 11:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.