Proverbs 15:20

20 A wise son makes his father happy, but a foolish son disrespects his mother.

Proverbs 15:20 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 15:20

A wise son maketh a glad father
(See Gill on Proverbs 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 Gill on Proverbs 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 ( Proverbs 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.

Proverbs 15:20 In-Context

18 People with quick tempers cause trouble, but those who control their tempers stop a quarrel.
19 A lazy person's life is like a patch of thorns, but an honest person's life is like a smooth highway.
20 A wise son makes his father happy, but a foolish son disrespects his mother.
21 A person without wisdom enjoys being foolish, but someone with understanding does what is right.
22 Plans fail without good advice, but they succeed with the advice of many others.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.