Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, But a companion of harlots wastes his wealth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father; but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
- KJV Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
- BSB A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
- NASB A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad, But he who involves himself with prostitutes wastes his wealth.
- NLT The man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but if he hangs around with prostitutes, his wealth is wasted.
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
Loving wisdom delights a father, but consorting with prostitutes wastes one's wealth. It contrasts the joy of wise living with the ruin of immorality.
Overview
The proverb pairs the joy a wise son brings his father with the loss and shame of a son who squanders his substance on prostitutes. Wisdom honors family and preserves blessing, while sexual sin destroys. This recalls the prodigal who wasted his inheritance and the Father's joy at the repentant son's return, a picture of gospel grace (Luke 15:13).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Prov 27:11Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, then I can answer my tormentor.
- Luke 15:30But when this, your son, came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
- Prov 10:1The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father; but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.
- Prov 15:20A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.
- Prov 6:26For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread. The adulteress hunts for your precious life.
- Prov 28:7Whoever keeps the law is a wise son; but he who is a companion of gluttons shames his father.
- Luke 15:13Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living.
- Prov 21:17He who loves pleasure shall be a poor man. He who loves wine and oil shall not be rich.
- Prov 5:8–10Remove your way far from her. Don’t come near the door of her house,
- Prov 23:24–25The father of the righteous has great joy. Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him.
- Prov 21:20There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man swallows it up.
- Prov 28:19One who works his land will have an abundance of food; but one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.
- Luke 1:13–17But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
- Prov 23:15My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad, even mine:
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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 29:3 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
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