17:21

The parallel parts express the same meaning from different perspectives. In Hebrew, they form a chiasm. The parts in 17:21b occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 17:21a.

21a
One begets a fool to his own grief ;

21b
does not rejoice the father of a fool.

If a chiasm is not natural in your language, you may need to change the order of the parallel parts. For example, the New Century Version changes the order of the parts in 17:21a. It has:

21a
It is sad to have a foolish child

The New Jerusalem Bible changes the order of the parts in 17:21b. It has:

21b
the father of a fool knows no joy

17:21a

A man fathers a fool to his own grief: In Hebrew, the phrase fathers a fool is literally “⌊one who⌋ begets a fool.” Some English versions express the meaning in a similar way. For example:

He who sires a fool (English Standard Version)
-or-
He who fathers a stupid child (New Jerusalem Bible)

The author of Proverbs focused on the relationship between a father and his son, because that was appropriate in his cultural context. The verse does not imply that the mother of a fool felt no grief. It also does not imply that foolish daughters caused their parents no grief.

In some languages, it may be more appropriate to use gender-neutral terms such as parent(s) and child/children. For example:

Stupid offspring bring sorrow to parents (Revised English Bible)
-or-
The parent of a fool has grief (God’s Word)

Use natural terms in your language to express these relationships.

17:21b

the father of a fool has no joy: Another way to translate this line is:

and the father of a godless fool has no joy (God’s Word)

General Comment on 17:21a–b

The words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “a fool” in 17:21a and 17:21b are different words in Hebrew.

The word in 17:21a refers to a person who does what is stupid and wrong because he is mentally lazy.

The word in 17:21b refers to a person who acts in a way that is rude or shameless.

Some English versions use different terms in each line. For example:

stupid…boorish (Revised English Bible)
-or-
a stupid child…a fool (New Jerusalem Bible)

Other versions use the same term in both lines. In this context, both terms refer to the same person.

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder and/or combine the parallel parts. For example:

It’s never pleasant to be the parent of a fool and have nothing but pain. (Contemporary English Version)

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