John Gill Commentary Proverbs 13:20

"Walk with wise men, and thou shalt be wise; But the companion of fools shall smart for it." — Proverbs 13:20 (ASV)

He that walketh with wise [men] shall be wise Who is a companion of them that fear the Lord; converses frequently with them in private about spiritual and experimental things, and walks with them in public in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord; he by those means grows wiser and wiser, gains a large stock of spiritual knowledge and experience; for this holds good both in natural and spiritual wisdom, a man of any capacity at all will improve by keeping wise company;

but a companion of fools shall be destroyed ; the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "shall become like them"; be a fool as they are, and grow still more and more foolish. The Septuagint version is, "shall be known"; known by the company he keeps to be a fool also: or rather, "shall be broken" ^F20 ; ruined and destroyed, "evil communications corrupt good manners", (1 Corinthians 15:33) , and so bring to ruin and destruction.

---

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: (ewry) "conteretur", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Mercerus, Gejerus; "conquassabitur", Cocceius; "fragetur", Michaelis; "infringetur", Schultens, so Ben Melech.