Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
Parallel translations
- WEB Children’s children are the crown of old men; the glory of children are their parents.
- BSB Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of a son is his father.
- NKJV Children’s children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father.
- NASB Grandchildren are the crown of the old, And the glory of sons is their fathers.
- NLT Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children.
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
Grandchildren are an honor to the elderly, and parents are the pride of their children. It matters because generations are meant to be a mutual crown of honor.
Overview
This proverb celebrates the blessing of family across generations: grandchildren crown the old, and godly parents are the glory of their children. It honors the family bonds God designed and the legacy of faithfulness passed down. Such generational blessing reflects God's covenant care across the ages (Psalm 78:4-7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 127:3–5Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
- Prov 16:31The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
- Prov 13:22A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
- Ps 128:3–6Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
- Exod 3:14–15And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
- 1 Kgs 11:12Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.
- 1 Kgs 15:4Nevertheless for David’s sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem:
- Gen 50:23And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph’s knees.
- Job 42:16–17After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations.
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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 17:6 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.