Bible Strands
Proverbs 13:20
He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Solomon (or the wisdom tradition) addresses a young person being shaped for life in the world; no narrative occasion, just a standing maxim.
The words — The Hebrew pairs רֹעֶה (ro'eh, "one who pastures with") with יֵרֹעַ (yerōa', "he will be pastured/harmed"), a wordplay that makes the association itself the mechanism of ruin.
The thread — Paul quotes the same principle in 1 Corinthians 15:33 ("Bad company corrupts good character"); Proverbs 9:6 and 15:31 reinforce the positive side of walking with the wise.
Why it lands — It names a slow, invisible process: you don't decide to become a fool, you simply keep company with one. The demand is concrete — examine who you spend time with, not what you intend to learn.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
- Proverbs 15:31 He who listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
- Proverbs 9:6 Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.”
- 2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
- Psalms 119:63 I am a friend to all who fear You, and to those who keep Your precepts.
- Revelation 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
- Proverbs 1:11 If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
- Malachi 3:16 At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name.
- Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.
- Proverbs 7:22 He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap,