The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
Parallel translations
- WEB The father of the righteous has great joy. Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him.
- KJV The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
- NKJV The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
- NASB ¶The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
- NLT The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are 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
The father of a righteous, wise child rejoices greatly.
Overview
A wise and righteous child is a source of profound joy to a godly parent. The verse celebrates that wisdom in the next generation is a true reward. It reflects the heart of God, who delights in His children's righteousness, and the joy of the faithful over those who walk in truth (3 John 4).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Prov 15:20A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
- Prov 10:1The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
- Prov 29:3A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
- Prov 23:15–16My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
- Phlm 1:20Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
- Phlm 1:9I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.
- 1 Kgs 2:9Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.”
- 1 Kgs 2:1–3As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon,
- Eccl 2:19And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.
- 1 Kgs 1:48saying, ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel! Today He has provided one to sit on my throne, and my eyes have seen it.’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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 23:24 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.