Proverbs 11:24
in Proverbs 11One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
There is that scattereth, and increaseth yet more; And there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth only to want.
KJV
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
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This verse in Proverbs 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseOthers seize what is not theirs, etc. He says, They will always be in poverty, not only in torments, where they receive not even a drop of water to be refreshed for a short while (Luke XVI), but even in this life, where although they …
This site's exposition
The desire of the righteous leads only to good
on Proverbs 11:23-27
The proverbs that follow work out the same contrast in the economics of giving. “One gives freely, yet gains even more,” and “A generous soul will prosper”. In famine “The people will curse the hoarder of grain, but blessing will crown the one who sells it”.
This site's exposition
One gives freely, yet gains even more
One gives freely and gains more, and another withholds what is right and grows poor. John Gill pictures the giver scattering money among the poor and gaining by the blessing of God, and he points to Psalm 112. Generosity is sowing.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Others divide their own, etc. Because they receive a hundredfold in this time, and in the future age, eternal life (Matt. XIX).
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth,.... That scattereth "his own", as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions add: that disperses his money here and there, among many poor objects, plentifully and liberally; and his substance is so far from being lessened by such a conduct, that, by the blessing of God, it is increased more and more; or "become richer", as the Vulgate Latin; see Psa 112:
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The scope of the whole is a comment on Pr 11:23. Thus liberality, by God's blessing, secures increase, while penuriousness, instead of expected gain, procures poverty.
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth - The bountiful man, who gives to the poor, never turning away his face from any one in distress, the Lord blesses his property and the bread is multiplied in his hand. To the same purpose the following verse.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Withholdeth more than is meet - i. e., Is sparing and niggardly where he ought to give. The contrast is stated in the form of a paradox, to which the two following verses supply the answer. Some render, “There is that withholdeth from what is due,” i. e., from a just debt, or from the generosity of a just man.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יֵ֣שׁ | yesh | there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| מְ֭פַזֵּר | mefazer | [is one who] scatters | H6340 → | |
| וְנוֹסָ֥ף | venosaf | and [who is] increased | H3254 → | 212 times |
| ע֑וֹד | od | still | H5750 → | 490 times |
| וְחוֹשֵׂ֥ךְ | vechosekh | and [one who] withholds | H2820 → | 28 times |
| מִ֝יֹּ֗שֶׁר | miyosher | from uprightness | H3476 → | 14 times |
| אַךְ־ | ʾakh- | only | H389 → | 161 times |
| לְמַחְסֽוֹר׃ | lemachsor | to poverty | H4270 → | 13 times |
יֵ֣שׁthere
yeshH3426 →140 times
מְ֭פַזֵּר[is one who] scatters
mefazerH6340 →
וְנוֹסָ֥ףand [who is] increased
venosafH3254 →212 times
ע֑וֹדstill
odH5750 →490 times
וְחוֹשֵׂ֥ךְand [one who] withholds
vechosekhH2820 →28 times
מִ֝יֹּ֗שֶׁרfrom uprightness
miyosherH3476 →14 times
אַךְ־only
ʾakh-H389 →161 times
לְמַחְסֽוֹר׃to poverty
lemachsorH4270 →13 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ecclesiastes 11:6Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 9:10–11
Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness.
- Isaiah 55:10
For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,
- Haggai 1:6–11
You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into…
- Hosea 10:12
Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
- 2 Corinthians 9:10–11
Through
Luke 6:38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 9:6–8
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 15:10
Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything…
- Mark 4:24
He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more will be added to you.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6–8
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.