Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t weary yourself to be rich. In your wisdom, show restraint.
- BSB Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
- NKJV Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!
- NASB ¶Do not weary yourself to gain wealth; Stop dwelling on it.
- NLT Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit.
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
Do not exhaust yourself striving to get rich; show wise restraint.
Overview
Proverbs commends diligent work but warns against the anxious, all-consuming pursuit of wealth. True wisdom restrains the craving for riches, recognizing its emptiness and danger. Jesus warned plainly that one cannot serve both God and money, and that life does not consist in abundance of possessions (Matt. 6:24; Luke 12:15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Heb 13:5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
- Prov 28:20A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
- 1 Tim 6:8–10And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
- Matt 6:19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
- Prov 3:5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
- John 6:27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
- Prov 15:27He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
- Rom 12:16Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
- Isa 5:21Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
- Prov 26:12Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
- Prov 3:7Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
- Rom 11:25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
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 23:4 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.