Wealth is a crown for the wise; the effort of fools yields only foolishness.
Parallel translations
- WEB The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools crowns them with folly.
- KJV The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is 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.
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 as good as an inheritance. Yes, it is more excellent for those who see the sun.
- Luke 16:9I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents.
- Luke 12:19–20I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”’
- Luke 16:19–25“Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.
- Isa 33:6There will be stability in your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of Yahweh is your treasure.
- Ps 112:9He has dispersed, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted with honor.
- Ps 49:10–13For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others.
- Prov 27:22Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed 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.