He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who becomes the father of a fool grieves. The father of a fool has no joy.
- BSB A man fathers a fool to his own grief; the father of a fool has no joy.
- NKJV He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy.
- NASB He who fathers a fool does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy.
- NLT It is painful to be the parent of a fool; there is no joy for the father of a rebel.
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
Raising a foolish child brings deep sorrow to a parent. Folly in one's offspring is a grief that robs a parent of joy.
Overview
Proverbs repeatedly contrasts the joy of a wise child with the grief of a foolish one (Prov. 10:1; 15:20). The 'fool' here is not merely the unintelligent but the morally and spiritually rebellious. This verse soberly reminds parents and children alike that character has consequences for those we love, and it points to the heavenly Father's own grief over wayward children and His grace to restore them in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 10:1The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
- Prov 19:13A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
- Prov 15:20A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
- Prov 17:25A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.
- Prov 23:15–16My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
- 1 Sam 2:32–35And 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.
- Gen 26:34And 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:
- Phlm 1:19–20I 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.
- 3 Jn 1:4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
- 2 Cor 2:3And 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.
- 2 Sam 18:33And 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!
- 1 Sam 8:3And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 17:21 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.