Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 15:20
A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
20. despiseth ] and so maketh her sad, in latent contrast with the first clause of the verse.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
To despise a mother is to cause her the deepest grief, and is therefore not unfitly contrasted with making a glad father.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Maketh a glad father, by giving him that honour and obedience which he oweth to him.
Despiseth his mother; whereby he maketh her sad. See Poole “Pro 10:1“, where we have the same proverb.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. (Compare Pr10:1).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
A wise son maketh a glad father,….
[See comments on Pr 10:1];
but a foolish man despiseth his mother; that bore him and brought him up, and perhaps was too indulgent to him; which aggravates his sin and her sorrow; [See comments on Pr 10:1]; or causes her to be despised by others, as Jarchi interprets it; such a man’s sin, which is great folly, and shows him to be a foolish man, is highly resented by the Lord, and will be severely punished; see Pr 30:17. The Targum is,
“a foolish son despises his mother;”
and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, which makes the antithesis more clear; and the Hebrew text designs one grown up to man’s estate.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This collection of Solomonic proverbs began, Pro 10:1, with a proverb having reference to the observance of the fourth commandment,
(Note: The fifth commandment of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is named as the fourth in Luther’s catechism.)
and a second chief section, Pro 13:1, began in the same way. Here a proverb of the same kind designates the beginning of a third chief section. That the editor was aware of this is shown by the homogeneity of the proverbs, Pro 15:19; Pro 12:28, which form the conclusion of the first and second sections. We place together first in this new section, Pro 15:20-23, in which (with the exception of Pro 15:25) the [maketh glad] of the first (Pro 10:1) is continued.
Pro 15:20 20 A wise son maketh a glad father,
And a fool of a man despiseth his mother.
Line first = Pro 10:1. The gen. connection of (here and at Pro 21:20) is not superlative the most foolish of men, but like , Gen 16:12; the latter: a man of the wild ass kind; the former: a man of the fool kind, who is the exemplar of such a sort among men. Piety acting in willing subordination is wisdom, and the contrary exceeding folly.
Pro 15:21 21 Folly is joy to him that is devoid of understanding;
But a man of understanding goeth straight forward.
Regarding , vid., at Pro 6:32 (cf. libb , which in the Samaritan means “dearly beloved,” in Syr. “courageous,” in Arab. and Aethiop. cordatus ); , Pro 10:23, and , with the accus. of the way, here of the going, Pro 3:6 (but not Pro 11:5, where the going itself is not the subject). In consequence of the contrast, the meaning of 21a is different from that of Pro 10:23, according to which sin is to the fool as the sport of a child. Here is folly and buffoonery, drawing aside in every kind of way from the direct path of that which is good, and especially from the path of one’s duty. This gives joy to the fool; he is thereby drawn away from the earnest and faithful performance of the duties of his calling, and thus wastes time and strength; while, on the contrary, a man of understanding, who perceives and rejects the vanity and unworthiness of such trifling and such nonsense, keeps the straight direction of his going, i.e., without being drawn aside or kept back, goes straight forward, i.e., true to duty, prosecutes the end of his calling. is accus., like Pro 30:29, Mic 6:8.
Pro 15:22 22 A breaking of plans where no counsel is;
But where many counsellors are they come to pass.
On the other side it is also true according to the proverbs, “ so viel Kpfe so viel Sinne ” [ quot homines, tot sententiae ], and “ viel Rath ist Unrath ” [ ne quid nimis ], and the like. But it cannot become a rule of morals not to accept of counsel that we may not go astray; on the contrary, it is and remains a rule of morals: not stubbornly to follow one’s own heart (head), and not obstinately to carry out one’s own will, and not in the darkness of wisdom to regard one’s own plans as unimproveable, and not needing to be examined; but to listen to the counsel of intelligent and honest friends, and, especially where weighty matters are in hand, not affecting one’s own person, but the common good, not to listen merely to one counsellor, but to many. Not merely the organism of the modern state, but also of old the Mosaic arrangement of the Israelitish community, with its representative organization, its courts and councils, rested on the acknowledged justice and importance of the saying uttered in Pro 11:14, and here generalized. , infin. abs. Hiph. of , to break, with the accus. following, stands here, like , Pro 12:7, instead of the finite: the thoughts come to a fracture (failure), irrita fiunt consilia . (= , cf. Psa 2:2) means properly the being brought close together for the purpose of secret communication and counsel (cf. Arab. sawada , to press close together = to walk with one privately). The lxx: their plans are unexecuted, , literally Symmachus, . has, after Jer 4:14; Jer 51:29, as subject. The lxx (besides perverting [by a multitude] into ]), the Syr. and Targ. introduce (Pro 19:21) as subject.
Pro 15:23 23 A man has joy by the right answer of his mouth;
And a word in its season, how fair is it!
If we translate only by “answer,” then 23a sounds as a praise of self-complaisance; but it is used of true correspondence (Pro 29:19), of fit reply (Job 32:3, Job 32:5), of appropriate answer (cf. 28a, Pro 16:1). It has happened to one in his reply to hit the nail on its head, and he has joy from that ( after , e.g., Pro 23:24), and with right; for the reply does not always succeed. A reply like this, which, according to circumstances, stops the mouth or bringeth a kiss (Pro 24:26), is a fortunate throw, is a gift from above. The synonymous parallel line measures that which is appropriate, not to that which is to be answered, but from a general point of view as to its seasonableness; (= from ) is here “the ethically right, becoming time, determined by the laws of wisdom (moral)” ( vid., Orelli, Synonyma der Zeit u. Ewigkeit, p. 48), cf. (translated by Luther ‘in its time”), Pro 25:11. With , cf. Pro 16:16; both ideas lie in it: that such a word is in itself well-conditioned and successful, and also that it is welcome, agreeable, and of beneficial influence.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
20 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
Observe here, 1. To the praise of good children, that they are the joy of their parents, who ought to have joy of them, having taken so much care and pains about them. And it adds much to the satisfaction of those that are good if they have reason to think that they have been a comfort to their parents in their declining years, when evil days come. 2. To the shame of wicked children, that by their wickedness they put contempt upon their parents, slight their authority, and make an ill requital for their kindness: A foolish son despises his mother, that had most sorrow with him and perhaps had too much indulged him, which makes his sin in despising her the more sinful and her sorrow the more sorrowful.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Gladness or Grief For Parents
Verse 20- (See comment on Pro 10:1. Compare also Pro 30:17.)
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
20. Maketh glad Gladdens. This is much the same as Pro 10:1, where see note.
Despiseth his mother The original is very forcible, and might be rendered, But a fool of a man is hev who treats his mother with contempt, by neglecting her affectionate counsels.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 20. A wise son maketh a glad father,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 15:20 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
Ver. 20. A wise son maketh a glad father. ] See Trapp on “ Pro 10:1 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 15:20
Pro 15:20
“A wise son maketh a glad father; But a foolish man despiseth his mother.”
It would make a better balance here if `despiseth’ is read `shameth’; and Deane assures us that the verb here may mean exactly that. Another rendition is, “A wise son makes his father happy. Only a fool despises his mother.
Pro 15:20. Read Pro 10:1; Pro 29:3 also. Nothing makes a father happier than the good ways of his children (3Jn 1:4). Despising ones mother is just the opposite of the Fifth Commandment (Exo 20:12). A child who is brought up to honor his parents will usually grow up and bring honor and gladness to them.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
wise: Pro 10:1, Pro 23:15, Pro 23:16, Pro 29:3, 1Ki 1:48, 1Ki 2:9, 1Ki 5:7, Phi 2:22
despiseth: Pro 23:22, Pro 30:17, Exo 20:12, Lev 19:3
Reciprocal: Pro 13:1 – wise Pro 17:21 – that Pro 17:25 – General Pro 19:13 – foolish Pro 23:24 – father Pro 27:11 – be wise Luk 1:14 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 15:20-21. A wise son, &c. See the note on chap. 10:1, where we have the same proverb. Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom
He not only works wickedness, but takes pleasure in doing it; but a man of understanding walketh uprightly Hebrew, , directeth, or maketh straight, his going; that is, ordereth all his actions by the rule of Gods word, and delights in so doing, as may be understood from the opposite clause.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The full thought behind this verse seems to be, "The wise son honors and gladdens his father, the foolish laughs at and saddens his mother." [Note: Toy, p. 311.] It may imply that the fool is callous toward his mother. [Note: Kidner, p. 116.]