Problems in the home

Proverbs 19:13 - 14 (New King James Version)

13. A foolish son is the ruin of his father, and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping.

14. Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

Criswell Center for Biblical Studies notes…

19:13 the two clauses of this verse express the ingredients of a miserable home life: a foolish or misbehaving son and a nagging or ill-tempered wife. “Ruin” in Hebrew is a plural form, nothing the great and continued sorrow and distress which a “foolish son” brings upon his father. When one has rain on a bad roof, he cannot sit, stand, work, or sleep without the continual nuisance of being exposed to the “dripping,” which interrupts a man’s household comfort and wears away his nerves. In other words, a wife’s nagging drives her husband away. A traditional Arab proverb expresses these ingredients for an uninhabitable house: the leakage of rain (tak, Arab.), a woman’s nagging (nag, Arab.), and bugs (bak, Arab.). The “foolish son” may be cast out (Deut. 21:18), but the “contentions of a wife” must be endured (Matt. 5:32; 19:9). How often the foolish son and contentious wife are found together under one roof. When the wife disputes her husband’s authority whether openly or privately, when a mother sides with her offspring against the father whether in decision or discipline, the effect upon all is catastrophic. Children in such a home grow up in virtual lawlessness, despising the authority of the ineffective father and defying the correction of a domineering mother.

Criswell Center for Biblical Studies notes…

19:14 “Houses and riches,” which in themselves are not the assurance of happiness, may come to man by matter of course as an ancestral inheritance. However, a “prudent wife” comes not by matter of chance or descent but directly from the Lord (cf. 18:22; Gen. 24:14). The word “prudent” describes not only her wise governing of the household (31:27) but also the godly wisdom (8:12) which makes her a joy and strength to her husband (18:22; 31:11, 23, 28) rather than his trouble and disgrace.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary notes…

A contrast of men's gifts and God's, who, though author of both blessings, confers the latter by His more special providence. And--or, "but," implying that the evils of Pro 19:13 are only avoided by His care.

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Blessings to all!
CJ