Proverbs 11:29

The one who troubles ¹  his family ²  will inherit nothing, ³  and the fool ⁴  will be a servant to the wise person. ⁵ 

He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.

He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, And the foolish will be servant to the wisehearted.

Those who bring trouble on their families inherit only the wind. The fool will be a servant to the wise.

Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air; common sense tells you it's a stupid way to live.

The troubler of his house will have the wind for his heritage, and the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.

Those who trouble their households will inherit wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.

He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

The one who troubles ¹  his family ²  will inherit nothing, ³  and the fool ⁴  will be a servant to the wise person. ⁵ 

¹ tn The verb עָכַר (’akhar, “to trouble”) refers to actions which make life difficult for one’s family (BDB 747 s.v.). He will be cut out of the family inheritance.

² tn Heb “his house.” The term בֵּית (bet, “house”) is a synecdoche of container (= house) for its contents (= family, household).

³ tn Heb “the wind” (so KJV, NCV, NLT); NAB “empty air.” The word “wind” (רוּחַ, ruakh) refers to what cannot be grasped (Prov 27:16; Eccl 1:14, 17). The figure is a hypocatastasis, comparing wind to what he inherits – nothing he can put his hands on. Cf. CEV “won’t inherit a thing.”

⁴ sn The “fool” here is the “troubler” of the first half. One who mismanages his affairs so badly so that there is nothing for the family may have to sell himself into slavery to the wise. The ideas of the two halves of the verse are complementary.

⁵ tn Heb “to the wise of heart.” The noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) is an attributed genitive: “wise heart.” The term לֵב (“heart”) also functions as a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole (= person); see BDB 525 s.v. 7.