For similar sayings see 10.1 and 13.1.

“He who keeps the law is a wise son”: “Keeps” in “keeps the law” renders a different verb than used in verse 4, but the sense is the same. “Son” in Hebrew is a masculine singular noun, but it need not be translated as exclusively a male offspring. Note Good News Translation “young people.” “A wise son” is literally “son of understanding,” meaning a person who is wise or capable, as with “men of understanding” in verse 2.

“But a companion of gluttons shames his father”: “Gluttons” is the same term found in 23.20-21, where it means “people who overindulge in food.” Here the sense is more generally of worthless people, those who are shamelessly immoral. So Good News Translation has “good-for-nothings” and Contemporary English Version “worthless nobodies.” “Shames”, as in 25.8, translates a word meaning to “humiliate,” “disgrace,” or “dishonor.” Whether “father” or “parents” is used may depend on the way “son” is translated in line 1.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .