The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
Parallel translations
- WEB The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.
- KJV The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
- BSB A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
- NKJV The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.
- NASB A generous person will be prosperous, And one who gives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A generous person will prosper, and whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Blessing others brings blessing back to ourselves.
Overview
Using the imagery of being 'made fat' and 'watered,' this proverb promises that liberality returns to the giver in God's good providence. It reinforces that selfless generosity is not loss but gain. This reflects the gospel pattern in which those who pour themselves out for others are filled by the God who supplies every need.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 5:7Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
- 2 Cor 9:6–9Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
- Isa 58:7–11Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?
- Matt 25:34–35Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
- Isa 32:8But the noble devises noble things; and he will continue in noble things.
- Prov 28:27One who gives to the poor has no lack; but one who closes his eyes will have many curses.
- Job 29:13–18the blessing of him who was ready to perish came on me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
- Job 31:16–20“If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 11:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.