The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.
Parallel translations
- WEB The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools crowns them with folly.
- BSB The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the effort of fools is folly.
- NKJV The crown of the wise is their riches, But the foolishness of fools is folly.
- NASB The crown of the wise is their riches, But the foolishness of fools is simply foolishness.
- NLT Wealth is a crown for the wise; the effort of fools yields only foolishness.
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
Wisdom adorns the wise like a crown, but fools are crowned only with more folly. Each is marked by what they pursue.
Overview
The proverb plays on the image of a crown: the wise are honored by the fruit of their wisdom, while fools display nothing but their folly. It teaches that the outcome of a life corresponds to the wisdom or foolishness that shaped it. The wise reflect the true riches found in the knowledge of God (Proverbs 8:18-19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Eccl 7:11–12Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.
- Luke 16:9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
- Luke 12:19–20And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
- Luke 16:19–25There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
- Isa 33:6And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.
- Ps 112:9He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
- Ps 49:10–13For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
- Prov 27:22Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 14:24 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.