King James Version

Proverbs 23:22

Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

Study

Hebrew

Tap a word to see its meaning. Words run left to right in English reading order.

שְׁמַ֣עshemahearשָׁמַעverb, qal, imperative, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “hear”, a commandH8085to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)[idiom] attentively, call (gather) together, [idiom] carefully, [idiom] certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, [idiom] diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) hear(-ken, tell), [idiom] indeed, listen, make (a) n…לְ֭אָבִיךָleavikhato fatherאָבpreposition, noun, common, masculine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “to father”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH1father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationchief, (fore-) father(-less), [idiom] patrimony, principal. Compare names in 'Abi-'.זֶ֣הzehthe one...the otherזֶהpronoun, demonstrative, masculine, singular — “the one...the other”H2088the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thathe, [idiom] hence, [idiom] here, it(-self), [idiom] now, [idiom] of him, the one...the other, [idiom] than the other, ([idiom] out of) the (self) same, such (a one) that, these, this (hath, man), on this side...on that side, [idiom] thus,…יְלָדֶ֑ךָyeladekhabearיָלַדverb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “bear”, a completed actionH3205to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineagebear, beget, birth(-day), born, (make to) bring forth (children, young), bring up, calve, child, come, be delivered (of a child), time of delivery, gender, hatch, labour, (do the office of a) midwife, declare pedigrees, be the son of, (wom…וְאַלvealand notאַלconjunction, particle, negative — “and not”H408not (the qualified negation, used as a deprecative); once (Job 24:25) as a noun, nothingnay, neither, [phrase] never, no, nor, not, nothing (worth), rather than.תָּ֝ב֗וּזtavuzcontemnבּוּזverb, qal, jussive, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “contemn”, a wish or indirect commandH936to disrespectcontemn, despise, [idiom] utterly.כִּֽיkiassuredכִּיconjunction — “assured”H3588(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexedand, + (forasmuch, inasmuch, where-) as, assured(-ly), + but, certainly, doubtless, + else, even, + except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, + nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then, therefore, + (al-) though, + til…זָקְנָ֥הzaqenahbe oldזָקֵןverb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “be old”, a completed actionH2204to be oldaged man, be (wax) old (man).אִמֶּֽךָimekhamotherאֵםnoun, common, feminine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “mother”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH517a mother (as the bond of the family); in a wide sense (both literally and figuratively (like father))dam, mother, [idiom] parting.

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

Hearken unto thy father that begot thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she is old.

Young’s Literal Translation

Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old.

World English Bible

Listen to your father who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.

Darby Translation

Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

Douay-Rheims

Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

Hearken unto thy father that begot thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

Hearken, my son, to thy father which begot thee, and despise not thy mother because she is grown old.

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Ἄκουε, υἱὲ, πατρὸς τοῦ γεννήσαντός σε, καὶ μὴ καταφρόνει ὅτι γεγήρακέ σου ἡ μήτηρ.