Proverbs 14:24
in Proverbs 14The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the effort of fools is folly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The crown of the wise is their riches; But the folly of fools is only folly.
KJV
The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.
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This verse in Proverbs 14
Commentary
5 notes on this verseBut the foolishness of fools is folly - The Targum reads, The honor of fools is folly. The fool, from his foolishness, produces acts of folly. This appears to be the meaning.
This site's exposition
Do they not err that devise evil?
on Proverbs 14:22-25
Those who devise evil err by the plainest definition, while mercy and truth belong to those who devise good, the same word, devise, used of a plan that can run toward ruin or toward kindness. Labour turns to profit and idle talk turns to poverty, and riches sit as the wise man's crown while folly is all the fool ever wears. The witness pair closes the group by echoing verse 5: a true witness delivers souls, and a deceitful witness speaks nothing but lies, the same integrity tested now in a courtroom rather than a conversation.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The crown of the wise is their riches, etc. The wise do not have any earthly gain for riches, but only a crown, which they will receive for their virtues in the future. But the greatest folly of fools is that imprudent and unmindful of …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The crown of the wise is their riches,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
“The crown,” i. e., the glory of the wise man constitutes his wealth. He alone is truly rich even as he alone (compare Pro 14:18 note) is truly king. The seeming tautology of the second clause is really its point. Turn “the foolishness of fools” as you will, it comes back to “foolishness” at last.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֲטֶ֣רֶת | ʾateret | [is the] crown of | H5850 → | 23 times |
| חֲכָמִ֣ים | chakhamim | wise [people] | H2450 → | 138 times |
| עָשְׁרָ֑ם | ʾasheram | wealth their | H6239 → | 37 times |
| אִוֶּ֖לֶת | ʾivelet | [the] folly of | H200 → | 25 times |
| כְּסִילִ֣ים | kesilim | fools | H3684 → | 70 times |
| אִוֶּֽלֶת׃ | ʾivelet | [is] folly | H200 → | 25 times |
עֲטֶ֣רֶת[is the] crown of
ʾateretH5850 →23 times
חֲכָמִ֣יםwise [people]
chakhamimH2450 →138 times
עָשְׁרָ֑םwealth their
ʾasheramH6239 →37 times
אִוֶּ֖לֶת[the] folly of
ʾiveletH200 →25 times
כְּסִילִ֣יםfools
kesilimH3684 →70 times
אִוֶּֽלֶת׃[is] folly
ʾiveletH200 →25 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
Luke 16:9I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
it leads to
- Matthew 19:21
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
- 1 Timothy 6:17–19
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us…
- Daniel 4:27
Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be…
- Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and…
- Proverbs 19:17
Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
- Matthew 19:21
Through
Psalms 112:9He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:16
And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
- Psalms 75:10
“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”
- James 2:15–16
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
- Hebrews 13:16
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).