Proverbs 23:22

22 Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.

Proverbs 23:22 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 23:22

Hearken unto thy father that begat thee
And who has a true and hearty affection for thee, and whatever he says is for thy good and welfare, which he studies and has at heart; and who therefore also has an authority over thee, and what he enjoins ought to be strictly regarded; and, having lived longer in the world, must be thought to have a larger experience and knowledge of things, and therefore should be hearkened unto; and despise not thy mother when she is old;
despise not her counsels, instructions, and advice, though she is old; and because she is so, do not reject them as old wives' fables, or as the silly talk of an old woman, as young men are too apt to do.

Proverbs 23:22 In-Context

20 Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags
22 Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.