◄ Proverbs 13:20 ►
He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
Study Bible
Walk with the wise
The Hebrew word for "walk" is "הָלַךְ" (halak), which implies a continuous action or lifestyle. In ancient Israel, walking was a common mode of travel, symbolizing one's journey through life. To "walk with the wise" suggests an intentional choice to align oneself with those who possess wisdom. Wisdom in the biblical sense is not merely intellectual knowledge but a deep, God-given understanding of life and righteousness. The wise are those who fear the Lord, as stated in Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." Walking with the wise means seeking their counsel, observing their ways, and adopting their values, which are rooted in a reverence for God.

and become wise
The phrase "become wise" indicates a transformation or growth in character and understanding. The Hebrew root "חָכַם" (chakam) is used here, which means to be wise or to act wisely. This transformation is not automatic but is the result of deliberate association and learning. In the biblical context, wisdom is a gift from God, often imparted through relationships and experiences. By associating with the wise, one absorbs their insights and perspectives, leading to personal growth and a deeper understanding of God's will.

for a companion of fools
The term "companion" comes from the Hebrew word "רֵעַ" (rea), meaning friend or associate. This implies a close relationship or frequent association. In contrast to the wise, "fools" in the biblical sense are those who reject God's wisdom and live according to their own understanding. The Hebrew word for "fools" is "כְּסִילִים" (kesilim), which often denotes moral and spiritual deficiency rather than mere lack of intelligence. Fools are characterized by their disregard for God's commandments and their pursuit of selfish desires.

suffers harm
The phrase "suffers harm" is derived from the Hebrew "רוּעַ" (rua), which means to be broken or to suffer ruin. This is a warning of the inevitable consequences of associating with those who lack wisdom. The Bible consistently teaches that the company one keeps has a profound impact on one's life. In 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul echoes this sentiment: "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'" The harm suffered is not only physical or material but also spiritual and moral, leading one away from God's path and into destructive behaviors.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Wise
Individuals who possess and live by godly wisdom, often characterized by their fear of the Lord and adherence to His commandments.

2. The Fool
Those who reject wisdom and understanding, often living in a way that is contrary to God's teachings.

3. The Companion
A person who associates closely with others, sharing in their habits and behaviors.

4. The Path of Wisdom
A metaphorical journey or lifestyle that aligns with God's principles and leads to spiritual growth and understanding.

5. Destruction
The negative consequences or ruin that result from living a life contrary to God's wisdom.
Teaching Points
The Influence of Companionship
Our close associations significantly impact our character and decision-making. Choose friends who encourage spiritual growth.

Pursuing Wisdom
Actively seek out wise mentors and immerse yourself in Scripture to cultivate godly wisdom.

Avoiding Destructive Paths
Recognize and distance yourself from relationships or environments that lead you away from God's truth.

The Consequences of Foolishness
Understand that aligning with foolishness leads to spiritual and sometimes physical ruin.

The Role of Community
Engage in a faith community that supports and challenges you to grow in wisdom and Christlikeness.
Bible Study Questions
1. How can you identify wise individuals in your life, and what steps can you take to walk more closely with them?

2. Reflect on a time when your companions influenced your decisions. How did this align with the teachings of Proverbs 13:20?

3. What practical steps can you take to distance yourself from foolish influences in your life?

4. How does the pursuit of wisdom in Proverbs 13:20 relate to the teachings of James 1:5 about seeking wisdom from God?

5. In what ways can your faith community help you grow in wisdom, and how can you contribute to the growth of others?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 1
This passage contrasts the way of the righteous with the way of the wicked, emphasizing the blessings of walking in godly counsel.

1 Corinthians 15:33
Paul warns that bad company corrupts good character, echoing the theme of Proverbs 13:20 about the influence of companions.

James 1:5
Encourages believers to seek wisdom from God, who gives generously to all without finding fault.

Proverbs 27:17
Highlights the sharpening effect of wise companionship, as iron sharpens iron.

Matthew 7:24-27
Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish builders illustrates the importance of building one's life on the foundation of His teachings.
Sermons
Character Affected by IntercourseE. Payson, D.D.Proverbs 13:20
Companionship of the YoungAlexander Davidson.Proverbs 13:20
Companionship with the Highest WisdomJ. Halsey.Proverbs 13:20
Friendship: a Sermon to the YoungW. Clarkson Proverbs 13:20
Godly Society ImprovingChristian WeeklyProverbs 13:20
Influence of Good AssociatesProverbs 13:20
Ruinous CompanyT. De Witt Talmage.Proverbs 13:20
Society Operates for Good or IllG. H. Salter.Proverbs 13:20
The Attainment of WisdomJohn Jortin, D. D.Proverbs 13:20
The Evils of Bad CompanySamuel Spence.Proverbs 13:20
The Grand Fellowship and Assimilation in Life's PathHomilistProverbs 13:20
The Importance of Avoiding Bad and Choosing Good CompanyJohn Guyse, D. D.Proverbs 13:20
The Influence of Conversation, with the Regulation ThereofJ. Lucas.Proverbs 13:20
The Power of AssociationH. Melvill, B.D.Proverbs 13:20
Walking with Wise MenJames Parsons.Proverbs 13:20
Walking with Wise Men a Means of Attaining WisdomJ. Abernethy, M.A.Proverbs 13:20
Wise CompanionshipJohn. Wilkins.Proverbs 13:20
The Blessings of Obedience and Their CounterpartE. Johnson Proverbs 13:18-25
People
Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Becomes, Becometh, Broken, Companion, Company, Depraved, Destroyed, Evil, Foolish, Fools, Grows, Harm, Keeps, Smart, Suffer, Suffereth, Suffers, Walk, Walketh, Walking, Walks, Wise
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 13:20

     8341   separation
     8367   wisdom, importance of

Proverbs 13:15-22

     6024   sin, effects of

Library
The Tillage of the Poor
'Much food is in the tillage of the poor.'--PROVERBS xiii. 23. Palestine was a land of small peasant proprietors, and the institution of the Jubilee was intended to prevent the acquisition of large estates by any Israelite. The consequence, as intended, was a level of modest prosperity. It was 'the tillage of the poor,' the careful, diligent husbandry of the man who had only a little patch of land to look after, that filled the storehouses of the Holy Land. Hence the proverb of our text arose. It …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Poor Rich and the Rich Poor
'There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing; there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.'--PROVERBS xiii. 7. Two singularly-contrasted characters are set in opposition here. One, that of a man who lives like a millionaire and is a pauper; another, that of a man who lives like a pauper and is rich. The latter character, that of a man who hides and hoards his wealth, was, perhaps, more common in the days when this collection of Proverbs was put together, because in all ill-governed …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Practical Methods of Studying the Old Testament
[Sidenote: The various methods of approach] The Old Testament may be studied as literature, as history, as the record of an important stage in the evolution of religion, as the revelation of God to the race, or as a practical aid to the individual in living the true life. Each angle of approach calls for different methods and yields its correspondingly rich results. Studied in accordance with the canons of modern literary investigation, a literature is disclosed of surpassing variety, beauty, and …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Song of the Redeemed
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou ... hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ... T he extent, variety, and order of the creation, proclaim the glory of God. He is likewise, ^* Maximus in Minimis . The smallest of the works, that we are capable of examining, such for instance as the eye or the wing of a little insect, the creature of a day, are stamped with an inimitable impression of His wisdom and power. Thus in His written Word, there …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

The Heavenly Footman; Or, a Description of the Man that Gets to Heaven:
TOGETHER WITH THE WAY HE RUNS IN, THE MARKS HE GOES BY; ALSO, SOME DIRECTIONS HOW TO RUN SO AS TO OBTAIN. 'And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.'--Genesis 19:17. London: Printed for John Marshall, at the Bible in Gracechurch Street, 1698. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. About forty years ago a gentleman, in whose company I had commenced my …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

"And this is his Commandment," &C.
1 John iii. 23.--"And this is his commandment," &c. There are different tempers of mind among men, some more smooth and pliable, others more refractory and froward. Some may be persuaded by love, who cannot be constrained by fear. With some a request will more prevail than a command. Others again are of a harsher disposition. Love and condescension doth rather embolden them, and therefore they must be restrained with the bridle of authority. It would seem that the Lord hath some regard to this in …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Second Sunday after Easter
Text: First Peter 2, 20-25. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted for it, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

How is Christ, as the Life, to be Applied by a Soul that Misseth God's Favour and Countenance.
The sixth case, that we shall speak a little to, is a deadness, occasioned by the Lord's hiding of himself, who is their life, and "the fountain of life," Ps. xxxvi. 9, and "whose loving-kindness is better than life," Ps. lxiii. 3, and "in whose favour is their life," Ps. xxx. 5. A case, which the frequent complaints of the saints manifest to be rife enough, concerning which we shall, 1. Shew some of the consequences of the Lord's hiding his face, whereby the soul's case will appear. 2. Shew the …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Opposition to Messiah Ruinous
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel T here is a species of the sublime in writing, which seems peculiar to the Scripture, and of which, properly, no subjects but those of divine revelation are capable, With us, things inconsiderable in themselves are elevated by splendid images, which give them an apparent importance beyond what they can justly claim. Thus the poet, when describing a battle among bees, by a judicious selection of epithets …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

"But if Ye have Bitter Envying and Strife in Your Hearts, Glory Not," &C.
James iii. 14.--"But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not," &c. It is a common evil of those who hear the gospel, that they are not delivered up to the mould and frame of religion that is holden out in it, but rather bring religion into a mould of their own invention. It was the special commendation of the Romans, that they obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine into which they were delivered, (Rom. vi. 17) that they who were once servants, or slaves of sin, had now …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"But Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and all These Things Shall be Added unto You. "
Matth. vi. 33.--"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." The perfection even of the most upright creature, speaks always some imperfection in comparison of God, who is most perfect. The heavens, the sun and moon, in respect of lower things here, how glorious do they appear, and without spot! But behold, they are not clean in God's sight! How far are the angels above us who dwell in clay! They appear to be a pure mass of light and …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
Having spoken of the general notion of blessedness, I come next to consider the subjects of this blessedness, and these our Saviour has deciphered to be the poor in spirit, the mourners, etc. But before I touch upon these, I shall attempt a little preface or paraphrase upon this sermon of the beatitudes. 1 Observe the divinity in this sermon, which goes beyond all philosophy. The philosophers use to say that one contrary expels another; but here one contrary begets another. Poverty is wont to expel …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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