The wise will inherit glory, but shame will be the promotion of fools.
Parallel translations
- KJV The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
- BSB The wise will inherit honor, but fools are held up to shame.
- 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 on himself, his crown will be resplendent.”
- Isa 65:13–15Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be disappointed;
- 1 Sam 2:30“Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me forever.’ But now Yahweh says, ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be lightly esteemed.
- Dan 12:2–3Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
- Ps 73:24You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
- Prov 4:8Esteem her, and she will exalt you. She will bring you to honor, when you embrace her.
- Prov 13:8The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, but the poor hear no threats.
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 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.