Proverbs 4:3
Context4:3 When I was a son to my father, 1
a tender only child 2 before my mother,
Proverbs 13:1
Context13:1 A wise son accepts 3 his father’s discipline, 4
but a scoffer 5 does not listen to rebuke.
Proverbs 15:20
Context15:20 A wise child 6 brings joy to his father,
but a foolish person 7 despises 8 his mother.
Proverbs 19:13
Context19:13 A foolish child 9 is the ruin of his father,
and a contentious wife 10 is like 11 a constant dripping. 12
Proverbs 19:26
Context19:26 The one who robs 13 his father 14 and chases away his mother
is a son 15 who brings shame and disgrace.
Proverbs 28:7
Context28:7 The one who keeps the law 16 is a discerning child, 17
but a companion of gluttons brings shame 18 to his parents. 19


[4:3] 1 tn Or “a boy with my father.”
[4:3] 2 tc The LXX introduces the ideas of “obedient” and “beloved” for these two terms. This seems to be a free rendering, if not a translation of a different Hebrew textual tradition. The MT makes good sense and requires no emendation.
[13:1] 3 tn The term “accepts” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and clarity.
[13:1] 4 tc G. R. Driver suggested reading this word as מְיֻסַּר (mÿyussar, “allows himself to be disciplined”); see his “Hebrew Notes on Prophets and Proverbs,” JTS 41 (1940): 174. But this is not necessary at all; the MT makes good sense as it stands. Similarly, the LXX has “a wise son listens to his father.”
[13:1] 5 sn The “scoffer” is the worst kind of fool. He has no respect for authority, reviles worship of God, and is unteachable because he thinks he knows it all. The change to a stronger word in the second colon – “rebuke” (גָּעַר, ga’ar) – shows that he does not respond to instruction on any level. Cf. NLT “a young mocker,” taking this to refer to the opposite of the “wise son” in the first colon.
[15:20] 6 tn Heb “a fool of a man,” a genitive of specification.
[15:20] 7 sn The proverb is almost the same as 10:1, except that “despises” replaces “grief.” This adds the idea of the callousness of the one who inflicts grief on his mother (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 116).
[19:13] 7 tn Heb “a foolish son” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, CEV); NRSV “a stupid child.”
[19:13] 8 tn Heb “the contentions of a wife” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “the nagging of a wife.” The genitive could be interpreted (1) as genitive of source or subjective genitive – she is quarreling; or (2) it could be a genitive of specification, making the word “contentions” a modifier, as in the present translation.
[19:13] 9 tn Heb “is a constant dripping.” The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. The metaphor pictures water dropping (perhaps rain through the roof, cf. NRSV, CEV) in a continuous flow: It is annoying and irritating (e.g., Prov 27:15-16).
[19:13] 10 tc The LXX makes this moralistic statement for 13b: “vows paid out of hire of a harlot are not pure.” It is not based on the MT and attempts to reconstruct a text using this have been unsuccessful.
[19:26] 9 tn The construction joins the Piel participle מְשַׁדֶּד (mÿshaded, “one who robs”) with the Hiphil imperfect יַבְרִיחַ (yavriakh, “causes to flee” = chases away). The imperfect given a progressive imperfect nuance matches the timeless description of the participle as a substantive.
[19:26] 10 sn “Father” and “mother” here represent a stereotypical word pair in the book of Proverbs, rather than describing separate crimes against each individual parent. Both crimes are against both parents.
[19:26] 11 tn The more generic “child” does not fit the activities described in this verse and so “son” is retained in the translation. In the ancient world a “son” was more likely than a daughter to behave as stated. Such behavior may reflect the son wanting to take over his father’s lands prematurely.
[28:7] 11 tn The Hebrew word could refer (1) to “instruction” by the father (cf. NCV) or (2) the Mosaic law (so most English versions). The chapter seems to be stressing religious obedience, so the referent is probably the law. Besides, the father’s teaching will be what the law demands, and the one who associates with gluttons is not abiding by the law.
[28:7] 12 tn Heb “son,” but the immediate context does not suggest limiting this only to male children.
[28:7] 13 sn The companion of gluttons shames his father and his family because such a life style as he now embraces is both unruly and antisocial.
[28:7] 14 tn Heb “father,” but the immediate context does not suggest limiting this only to the male parent.