Proverbs 13:11
in Proverbs 13Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished; But he that gathereth by labor shall have increase.
KJV
Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
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This verse in Proverbs 13
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
By vanity - literally, “by a breath,” i. e., by a windfall, or sudden stroke of fortune, not by honest labor. The general meaning seems to be that the mere possession of riches is as nothing; they come and go, but the power to gain by skill of hand (“labor”) is everything.
This site's exposition
Arrogance leads only to strife
on Proverbs 13:10-12
“Dishonest wealth will dwindle,” but wealth earned through hard work grows, the contrast the book draws elsewhere between the diligent and the sluggard. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life,” the book's image for wisdom found and the righteous man's fruit.
This site's exposition
Dishonest wealth will dwindle
Albert Barnes renders the Hebrew behind dishonest wealth literally as wealth by a breath, a windfall that comes without labor. It leaves as easily as it came. What is earned through hard work grows and is multiplied.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Wealth hastily gotten will dwindle," etc. Those who want to become rich fall into temptation, and they do not possess those very riches, which they either acquire or desire, forever. But whoever strives justly for the acquisition of the wealth of heavenly rewards will receive …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
by vanity--or, "nothingness," that is, which is vain or useless to the public (as card playing or similar vices). gathereth . . . labour--(Compare Margin), little by little, laboriously.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Wealth gotten by vanity - Wealth that is not the result of honest industry and hard labor is seldom permanent. All fortunes acquired by speculation, lucky hits, and ministering to the pride or luxury of others, etc., soon become dissipated. They are not gotten in the way of Providence, and have not God’s blessing, and therefore are not permanent.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Wealth gotten by vanity One who makes his study in bundles. shall be diminished For he will forget it little by little.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Only with wickedness does one cause quarrels Heb. מצה, controversy.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֭וֹן | hon | wealth | H1952 → | 26 times |
| מֵהֶ֣בֶל | mehevel | from vanity | H1892 → | 73 times |
| יִמְעָ֑ט | yimat | it will become small | H4591 → | |
| וְקֹבֵ֖ץ | vekovetz | and [one who] gathers | H6908 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יָ֣ד | yad | hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יַרְבֶּֽה׃ | yarbeh | he will increase | H7235 → | 227 times |
ה֭וֹןwealth
honH1952 →26 times
מֵהֶ֣בֶלfrom vanity
mehevelH1892 →73 times
יִמְעָ֑טit will become small
yimatH4591 →
וְקֹבֵ֖ץand [one who] gathers
vekovetzH6908 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יָ֣דhand
yadH3027 →1618 times
יַרְבֶּֽה׃he will increase
yarbehH7235 →227 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
Proverbs 28:8He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.
it leads to
- Proverbs 13:22
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 27:16–17
Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay,
- Ecclesiastes 2:26
To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over…
- Proverbs 13:22
Through
Proverbs 10:2Ill-gotten treasures profit nothing, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:4
Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.
- Proverbs 11:4
Through
Proverbs 28:20A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.
it leads to
- Luke 16:10–12
Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
- Revelation 2:10
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful…
- Psalms 112:4–9
Light dawns in the darkness for the upright— for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
- Luke 16:10–12
Through
Proverbs 20:21An inheritance gained quickly will not be blessed in the end.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:9
Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
- 1 Timothy 6:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; 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.