The Meaning of Proverbs 10:1 Explained

Proverbs 10:1

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

YLT: Proverbs of Solomon. A wise son causeth a father to rejoice, And a foolish son is an affliction to his mother.

Darby: The Proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father; but a foolish son is the grief of his mother.

ASV: The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father; But a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The proverbs  of Solomon.  A wise  son  maketh a glad  father:  but a foolish  son  [is] the heaviness  of his mother. 

What does Proverbs 10:1 Mean?

Study Notes

foolish son
A "fool" in Scripture is never a mentally deficient person, but rather one arrogant and self-sufficient; one who orders his life as if there were no God. See, for illustration, Luke 12:16-20 . The rich man was not mentally deficient, but he was a "fool" because he supposed that his soul could live on the things in the barn, giving no thought to his eternal wellbeing.

Context Summary

Proverbs 10:1-16 - The Righteous And The Wicked
Wealth has its advantages, which are more than apparent. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, Proverbs 10:15; but the treasures which have been obtained by wickedness are soon dissipated. They profit nothing, Proverbs 10:2. This book contains the striking thought that ill-earned wealth is never gathered for the benefit of the possessor, but rather for the benefit of the righteous, and must be useless until it gets into hands which will use it benevolently and rightly.
But there is another kind of wealth, which will never take wings to fly away, which no moth can corrupt nor thief steal, and which will avail not only here but here-after. Note the antithesis of Proverbs 10:2. If you would increase your wealth, give it away. See Proverbs 10:4.
The covering work of love, referred to in Proverbs 10:12, is emphasized in 1 Corinthians 13:7, r.v., margin, 1 Peter 4:8, and James 5:20. God covers sin, so that the memory of it is obliterated, Ezekiel 33:16. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 10

1  Proverbs of Solomon: observations of moral virtues, and their contrary vices

What do the individual words in Proverbs 10:1 mean?

The Proverbs of Solomon - A son wise makes glad a father but a son [is] foolish the grief of his mother
מִשְׁלֵ֗י שְׁלֹ֫מֹ֥ה פ בֵּ֣ן חָ֭כָם יְשַׂמַּח־ אָ֑ב וּבֵ֥ן כְּ֝סִ֗יל תּוּגַ֥ת אִמּֽוֹ

מִשְׁלֵ֗י  The  Proverbs 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: מָשָׁל  
Sense: proverb, parable.
שְׁלֹ֫מֹ֥ה  of  Solomon 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׁלֹמֹה  
Sense: son of David by Bathsheba and 3rd king of Israel; author of Proverbs and Song of Songs.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation
בֵּ֣ן  A  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
חָ֭כָם  wise 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חָכָם  
Sense: wise, wise (man).
יְשַׂמַּח־  makes  glad 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׂמַח  
Sense: to rejoice, be glad.
אָ֑ב  a  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
וּבֵ֥ן  but  a  son  [is] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
כְּ֝סִ֗יל  foolish 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: כְּסִיל  
Sense: fool, stupid fellow, dullard, simpleton, arrogant one.
תּוּגַ֥ת  the  grief 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: תּוּגָה  
Sense: grief, heaviness, sorrow.
אִמּֽוֹ  of  his  mother 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֵם  
Sense: mother.