Read the Bible
KING JAMES BIBLE · PCE

Proverbs 17:21–22

TEXT EDITION
Pure Cambridge Edition selected
He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Share
Email linkOpen a new message in your email app
Read chapterReport issue
More

PASSAGE SELECTION

Build from either side

2 selected · 26 available

Add or remove verses within this chapter. The study tools update with the selected passage.

SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE

Cross References

All 22 ranked passages are available for comparison.

From verse 21

  1. Proverbs 10:1Rank 1 from verse 21
    Open

    1THE proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

  2. Proverbs 19:13Rank 2 from verse 21
    Open

    13A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

  3. 1 Samuel 2:32–35Rank 3 from verse 21
    Open

    32And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.

    33And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.

    34And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.

    35And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

  4. Genesis 26:34Rank 4 from verse 21
    Open

    34¶ And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

  5. Proverbs 15:20Rank 5 from verse 21
    Open

    20A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.

  6. Proverbs 17:25Rank 6 from verse 21
    Open

    25A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.

  7. Proverbs 23:15–16Rank 7 from verse 21
    Open

    15My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.

    16Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.

  8. 2 Corinthians 2:3Rank 8 from verse 21
    Open

    3And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.

  9. 2 Samuel 18:33Rank 9 from verse 21
    Open

    33¶ And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

  10. 3 John 1:4Rank 10 from verse 21
    Open

    4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

  11. Philemon 1:19–20Rank 11 from verse 21
    Open

    19I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.

    20Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.

  12. 1 Samuel 8:3Rank 12 from verse 21
    Open

    3And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.

From verse 22

  1. Proverbs 15:13Rank 1 from verse 22
    Open

    13A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

  2. Proverbs 12:25Rank 2 from verse 22
    Open

    25Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.

  3. Proverbs 18:14Rank 3 from verse 22
    Open

    14The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

  4. 2 Corinthians 7:10Rank 4 from verse 22
    Open

    10For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

  5. Ecclesiastes 9:7–9Rank 5 from verse 22
    Open

    7¶ Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.

    8Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.

    9Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

  6. Romans 5:2–5Rank 6 from verse 22
    Open

    2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

    3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

    4And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

    5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

  7. 2 Corinthians 2:7Rank 7 from verse 22
    Open

    7So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.

  8. Psalms 102:3–5Rank 8 from verse 22
    Open

    3For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.

    4My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.

    5By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.

  9. Psalms 22:15Rank 9 from verse 22
    Open

    15My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

  10. Psalms 32:3–4Rank 10 from verse 22
    Open

    3When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.

    4For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

WORDS IN THIS PASSAGE

Definitions

Open a word for its full definition and concordance.

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 17:21

COMBINED MEANING

fool

↗

Sense 1: A person lacking wisdom or moral understanding. Sense 2: As a verb, to act foolishly or deceive.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

sorrow

↗

Sense 1: Grief, sadness, anguish, pain, regret, distress, trouble, or heaviness. Sense 2: To grieve or cause such pain.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

father

↗

Sense 1: A male parent or begetter. Sense 2: An ancestor, forefather, founder, source, originator, chief, elder, or one bearing paternal authority and care. Sense 3: God as Father, including the Father of Jesus Christ and of those described as his children.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

joy

↗

Sense 1: Gladness, delight, or rejoicing. Sense 2: To rejoice, delight, or be glad.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 17:22

COMBINED MEANING

merry

↗

Glad, cheerful, joyful, festive, pleased, or enlivened in heart, often in connection with eating, drinking, feasting, celebration, or favourable circumstances.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

heart

↗

Sense 1: The bodily organ. Sense 2: The inward person: the mind, will, affections, conscience, or moral character.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

good

↗

Sense 1: Right, morally upright, beneficial, pleasing, useful, suitable, sound, favourable, or excellent. Sense 2: A good thing, benefit, welfare, possession, or goods. Sense 3: In ‘make good,’ to repair, repay, fulfil, establish, or prove.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

like

↗

Sense 1: Similar or of the same kind; in the same manner; likely. Sense 2: A like person or thing; an equal or counterpart. Sense 3: To please, choose, or regard with favour.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Skeat 1893 · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

but

↗

Sense 1: However; marking contrast or qualification. Sense 2: Except or unless; excluding all others or alternatives. Sense 3: Only; no more than what follows.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Skeat 1893 · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

spirit

↗

Sense 1: An immaterial living or personal being distinct from a body. Sense 2: The inward life, disposition, mind, or courage of a person. Sense 3: The Holy Spirit, the divine Spirit of God.

Meaning drawn from: Direct Scripture definition · KJV context and cross-references

READ THE PASSAGE

View in context

Nearby verses · passage boundary unavailable · Proverbs 17:20–23

The selected passage is highlighted. Context is a study aid.

17:20He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.

17:21He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.

Selected passage

17:22A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Selected passage

17:23A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.

LOCAL PASTOR DIRECTORY

Ask a Pastor Near You

Enter a U.S. ZIP code to find nearby pastors committed to holding fast the faithful word.

Your ZIP is processed in this browser from local data. It is not sent to a ZIP lookup service or to a church. ZIP coordinates from GeoNames, licensed under CC BY 4.0.