Proverbs 29:21

He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
up	מְפַנֵּ֣ק me.fa.Nek	H6445	to enervate · verb, piel active participle, masculine singular absolute
servant	עַבְדּ֑וֹ av.Do	H5650	a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
child	מִנֹּ֣עַר mi.No.'ar	H5290	(abstractly) boyhood · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
son	מָנֽוֹן ma.Non	H4497	a continuator · noun, common masculine singular absolute
length	וְ֝אַחֲרִית֗וֹ ve.'a.cha.ri.To	H319	the last or end · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 29:21

Note, 1. It is an imprudent thing in a master to be too fond of a servant, to advance him too fast, and admit him to be too familiar with him, to suffer him to be over-nice and curious in his diet, and clothing, and lodging, and so to bring him up delicately, because he is a favourite, and an agreeable servant; it should be remembered that he is a servant, and, by being thus indulged, will be spoiled for any other place. Servants must endure hardness. 2. It is an ungrateful thing in a servant, but what is very common, to behave insolently because he has been used tenderly. The humble prodigal thinks himself unworthy to be called a son, and is content to be a servant; the pampered slave think…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 29:21

become his son--assume the place and privileges of one.

John Gill on Proverbs 29:21

He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child,.... In a very tender and affluent way uses him with great familiarity; makes him sit at table, with him, feeds him with dainties, and clothes him in the most handsome manner, as if he was one of his own children: shall have him become his son at the length: he will expect to be used as a son; he will not care to do any servile work, or anything, especially that is hard and laborious; he will be for supplanting the son and heir, and think to inherit all himself; or, however, become proud, haughty, and saucy. Jarchi interprets this of the evil imagination, or the corruption of nature, which is in a man from a child; which, if cherished…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 29:21

21 If one pampers his servant from youth up, He will finally reach the place of a child. The lxx had no answer to the question as to the meaning of מנון. On the other hand, for פּנּק, the meaning to fondle; delicatius enutrire, is perfectly warranted by the Aram. and Arab. The Talmud, Succa 52b, resorts to the alphabet בח''אט in order to reach a meaning for מנון. How the Targ. comes to translate the word by מנסּח (outrooted) is not clear; the rendering of Jerome: postea sentiet eum contumacem, is perhaps mediated by the ἔσται γογγυσμός of Symmachus, who combines נון with לון, Niph. γογγύζειν. The ὀθυνηθήσεται of the lxx, with the Syr., von Hofmann has sought to justify (Schriftbew. ii.…

The Church Fathers

Formed, surrounded and coddled by delicacies and pleasures since its infancy, Israel, in spite of the [prefigured] images of the cross, "grew fat, became gross and recalcitrant," so that, finally, captivity imprisoned it among the Gentiles. "The one who is pampered in his infancy will be handed over to servitude."
— Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 38

He who delicately nurtures his servant from youth, etc. He who delicately nurtures his body from youth, which he ought to have subjugated to the soul, will feel this lascivious and indomitable spirit when he reaches the years of adolescence. Another translation beautifully has this verse, "He who is indulged from youth will be a servant; in the end, however, he will be afflicted." For indeed, he who regrets his evils too late within himself, remembering that he was unwilling in his still tender age to restrain his pleasures by the rule of the prudent.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Employer · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Master · SCRIPTURES RELATING TO MASTERS OF SERVANTS — SCRIPTURES RELATING TO MASTERS OF SERVANTS
Servant · .Rights of those born to a master — .Rights of those born to a master
Uprightness · They who walk in: Abominated by the wicked — They who walk in: Abominated by the wicked

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Proverbs 29:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 29:21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 29:21

John Gill on Proverbs 29:21

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 29:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 29:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 29:21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 29:21

John Gill on Proverbs 29:21

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 29:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 29:19

Rashi on Proverbs 29:21