Bible Strands
Proverbs 19:13
A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The wisdom writer addresses students of practical conduct, positioning this saying between observations about royal favor and inherited household resources.
The words — כְּסִ֑יל (ke.Sil) identifies a fool who acts without restraint, and מִדְיְנֵ֥י (mid.ye.Nei) names the contentions that drive domestic strife.
The thread — The text runs through Proverbs 10:1, which contrasts a wise son’s joy with a foolish son’s grief, and through Proverbs 21:9 and 27:15, which equate a quarrelsome wife with constant dripping to emphasize the burden of persistent conflict.
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to actively avoid foolish decisions and chronic arguments, recognizing that unchecked behavior directly destroys household stability.
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
A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 21:9 Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Proverbs 27:15 A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—
- Proverbs 10:1 The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
- Proverbs 25:24 Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- 2 Samuel 13:1 After some time, David’s son Amnon fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of David’s son Absalom.
- Job 14:19 as water wears away the stones and torrents wash away the soil, so You destroy a man’s hope.
- Proverbs 15:20 A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
- Proverbs 17:21 A man fathers a fool to his own grief; the father of a fool has no joy.
- Proverbs 17:25 A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
- Proverbs 21:19 Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.