Proverbs 17:22
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
King James Version
In Context
21He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
23A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
Cross References
Psalms 22:15My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
Psalms 102:3For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
Proverbs 15:13A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
Ecclesiastes 2:2I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
Romans 5:2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 7:10For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
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 →