Proverbs 17:22
A merry heart is a good medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
JPS TaNaKH 1917
In The King James Version
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
In Context
21He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow; and the father of a churl hath no joy.
23A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom, to pervert the ways of justice.
Cross References
Psalms 22:15(22-16) My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my throat; and Thou layest me in the dust of death.
Psalms 102:3(102-4) For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as a hearth.
Proverbs 15:13A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance; but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.
Ecclesiastes 2:2I said of laughter: 'It is mad'; and of mirth: 'What doth it accomplish?'
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 17:22
21 He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy. This expresses that very emphatically which many wise and good men feel very sensibly, what a grievous vexatious thing it is to have a foolish wicked child. See here, 1. How uncertain all our creature-comforts are, so that we are often not only disappointed in them, but that proves the greatest cross in which we promised ourselves most satisfaction. There was joy when a man-child was born into the world, and yet, if he prove… Read the whole commentary →