The wise will inherit honor, but fools are held up to shame.
Parallel translations
- WEB The wise will inherit glory, but shame will be the promotion of fools.
- KJV The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
- NKJV The wise shall inherit glory, But shame shall be the legacy of fools.
- NASB The wise will inherit honor, But fools increase dishonor.
- NLT The wise inherit honor, but fools are put to shame!
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 wise inherit honor, while fools are lifted up only to their shame. The two ways lead to opposite ends.
Overview
Closing the chapter, this antithetical proverb contrasts the lasting glory awarded to the wise with the disgrace that 'promotes' fools to public shame. Honor and shame here reflect God's final assessment of each way of life. The wisdom that leads to glory is fulfilled in Christ, in whom believers are destined for honor and glory (Rom 2:7-10; 1 Pet 5:4).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 132:18I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown upon him will gleam.”
- Isa 65:13–15Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.
- 1 Sam 2:30Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.
- Dan 12:2–3And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
- Ps 73:24You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.
- Prov 4:8Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.
- Prov 13:8Riches may ransom a man’s life, but a poor man hears no threat.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 3:35 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.