A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.
Parallel translations
- WEB The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, like an unscalable wall in his own imagination.
- KJV The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.
- NKJV The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own esteem.
- NASB A rich person’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination.
- NLT The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety.
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
The rich imagine their wealth is an impregnable defense. Trust in riches is a false and merely imagined security.
Overview
Deliberately paralleling verse 10, this proverb shows the rich man treating his wealth as a 'strong city,' but only 'in his own imagination.' The contrast exposes the difference between real refuge in God and the illusory security of money. Jesus warned that wealth cannot ransom the soul (Luke 12:19-21), and the gospel calls us to lay up treasure in heaven and trust the Lord rather than uncertain riches (1 Tim. 6:17).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Prov 10:15The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
- Eccl 7:12For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
- Ps 52:5–7Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
- Deut 32:31For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies concede.
- Ps 49:6–9They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
- Luke 12:19–21Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
- Prov 11:4Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.
- Ps 62:10–11Place no trust in extortion, or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
- Job 31:24–25If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security,
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 18:11 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.