Proverbs 17:6 - Exposition

Children's children are the crown of old men (comp. Psalms 127:1-5 ; Psalms 128:1-6 ). (For the term "crown," comp. Proverbs 16:18 .) Thus St. Paul calls his converts his "joy and crown" ( Philippians 4:1 ; 1 Thessalonians 2:19 ) In the East a large number of children is considered a great blessing, being a guarantee of the stability of the family. Thus writes Euripides ('Iph. Taur.,' 57)—

στύλοι γὰρ οἴκων παῖδες εἰσιν ἄρσενες

"Male children are the pillars of the house."

The glory of children are their fathers. A long line of good or celebrated ancestors is the glory of their descendants, and brings a blessing on them (see 1 Kings 11:13 ; 1 Kings 15:4 ). Hereditary nobility, based on descent from some eminent progenitor, may be a source of not unseemly pride, and a spur to a life worthy of such excellent ancestry.