Proverbs Chapter 17 verse 21 Holy Bible
He that begetteth a fool `doeth it' to his sorrow; And the father of a fool hath no joy.
read chapter 17 in ASV
He who has an unwise son gets sorrow for himself, and the father of a foolish son has no joy.
read chapter 17 in BBE
He that begetteth a fool [doeth it] to his sorrow, and the father of a vile [man] hath no joy.
read chapter 17 in DARBY
He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
read chapter 17 in KJV
read chapter 17 in WBT
He who becomes the father of a fool grieves. The father of a fool has no joy.
read chapter 17 in WEB
Whoso is begetting a fool hath affliction for it, Yea, the father of a fool rejoiceth not.
read chapter 17 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 21. - He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow (comp. ver. 25). The words for "fool" in the two clauses are different. Here it is kesil, which implies bold, self-confident folly, the worst form of the vies; in the second hemistich it is nabal, which rather denotes dulness and stupidity, a want of mental power. A conceited, offensive fool causes infinite trouble to his father, both from his need of constant correction, and the watchfulness required to repair the consequences of his foolish actions. There is also the grief at seeing instruction and warning thrown away on a worthless object. Septuagint, "The heart of a fool is a pain to him who possesseth it." The father of a fool hath no joy. The contrast in the case of a good son is seen in Proverbs 15:20 and Proverbs 23:24. The LXX. adds a clause from Proverbs 10:1, with the view of improving the parallelism, "But a prudent son rejoiceth his mother."
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(21) He that begetteth a fool (khesil).--See above, on Proverbs 1:32.The father of a fool (n?bh?l).--See above, on Proverbs 17:7.