He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish 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 5:16And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
- Prov 14:19The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
- Hab 2:9–10Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
- Prov 15:27He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
- Josh 7:24–25And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.
- 1 Sam 25:38And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died.
- 1 Sam 25:3Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
- 1 Sam 25:17Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.
- Hos 8:7For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
- Gen 34:30And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
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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.