The hoary head is a crown of glory, [if] it is found in the way of righteousness.
Proverbs fills this chapter with short sayings about speech, pride and self-control. Near the end it stops on an old man's white hair. The saying looks like a straight compliment to age, but everything hangs on the second half of the line. Commentators agree it sets a condition, not a promise.
The Crown Is Conditional
The verse does not honour years by themselves. The ESV says the crown "is gained in a righteous life"; older translations read the same clause as an "if". One writer keeps both in view, and points out that gray hair can just as easily be a long record of doing harm.
Do not be fooled by age, either, though it claims respect. But how sad it is when age helps evil along! "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is (or, if it be) found in the way of righteousness."
Take away the condition and the same white hair means something very different — not a crown at all, but a countdown.
"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory" (v. 31), but only on condition that it is found in the way of righteousness. Otherwise it is only a sign of approaching death and decay. How tragic is the case if this is so!
What "Crown Of Glory" Carries
The word behind "glory" means beauty and splendour. Scripture uses it of God Himself, of Israel, and of the crown that wisdom gives:
tipharah, tiphereth, 'splendour, beauty, glory.' It is applied to God, Isa. 60:19; to Israel, Isa. 46:13; the crown that wisdom gives, Prov. 4:9; the hoary head, Prov. 16:31, etc.
The Duty Of The Young
If age wears a crown, others owe it something. Scripture puts that duty beside other everyday duties:
Scripture requires reverence everywhere. It commands children to honour their parents (Eph. 6:1-3). It charges wives to respect their husbands (Eph. 5:33). And it commends old age: "You shall rise up before the gray head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear your God: I am Jehovah" (Lev. 19:32).
One writer makes the respect run both ways:
It is folly and blindness to set young against old, instead of helping them to profit from an experience of great value which they lack. Let the old admire the energy of the young, and let the young be sure to recognise the beauty of gray hair.
The Crown Is Not Always Given Here
A long, honoured old age is the normal reward of a righteous path. Scripture also records exceptions, and one writer traces them to God's timing:
The crown of martyrdom was for John, not the hoary head, the earthly crown of glory, for he did not live out half his days... The truth explaining the seemingly contradictory facts is that God was not then vindicating the righteous in the earth, as He will yet do (Ps. 58:10-11).
White Hair And Wisdom
White hair also stands for something. One writer ties it to Daniel's vision of the Ancient of Days, and then to Christ Himself:
"Gray hair is a crown of glory." White hair means wisdom — the wisdom Daniel's vision joins to the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9)... We are fond of our own way, we are without the wisdom we need. But when we look at the Lord Jesus we see Him clothed with all power and wisdom.
Age Is Not Meant To Be Idle
Old age in the way of righteousness is not the end of usefulness:
God makes grace flourish most when the leaves are falling. "They still bear fruit in old age" (Ps. 92:14).
The opposite is a sad picture. One writer looks at the crowds at a fair, and notes who is among them:
The fair attracts great numbers, not only of the young and thoughtless, but, sadly, many of those whose gray heads ought to be found in the way of righteousness.
Summary
- Found, not owed. The crown is not handed out with the years; the verse says where it is found — in the way of righteousness.
- Or forfeited. Where that way is missing, gray hair is not splendour. It only marks approaching death and decay — and age that helps evil along is worse still.
- Owed by others. Where the crown is real, Scripture commands a response: rise up before the gray head. The old, in turn, are to admire the energy of the young.
- Not always crowned now. John the Baptist received a martyr's crown instead of gray hair. God is not yet vindicating the righteous on earth.
- Still bearing fruit. Grace flourishes most as the leaves fall. A crowned old age is fruitful, not idle, and its white hair pictures the wisdom seen in Christ Himself.