Proverbs 15:20 (YLT)

Passage

A wise son rejoiceth a father. And a foolish man is despising his mother.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 15:18 A man of fury stirreth up contention, And the slow to anger appeaseth strife.

Proverbs 15:19 The way of the slothful <FI>is<Fi> as a hedge of briers, And the path of the upright is raised up.

Proverbs 15:20 A wise son rejoiceth a father. And a foolish man is despising his mother.

Proverbs 15:21 Folly is joy to one lacking heart, And a man of intelligence directeth <FI>his<Fi> going.

Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel <FI>is<Fi> the making void of purposes, And in a multitude of counsellors it is established.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wise", "rejoiceth", "father", "foolish", "despising", and "mother". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wise" and "rejoiceth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "The way of the slothful FI is..." into verse 21's "Folly is joy to one lacking heart...", so "wise" and "rejoiceth" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "wise" and "rejoiceth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.