Proverbs 11:28
in Proverbs 11He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; But the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.
KJV
He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
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This verse in Proverbs 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseHe who trusts in his riches will fall, etc. He who hankers after present goods and does not think of future ones, will lack both in the end. But those who do good in the hope of future rewards, justly receive what they hope for …
This site's exposition
He who trusts in his riches will fall
on Proverbs 11:28-29
“He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage,” the same contrast the Psalms draw. “He who brings trouble on his house will inherit the wind,” since wind is all a man holds once he has driven off everything solid.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that trusteth in his riches shall fall,.... As leaves in autumn, which are withered and dry.
The Nineteenth Century2 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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Branch - Better, leaf, as in Psa 1:3; Isa 34:4.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בּוֹטֵ֣חַ | boteach | [one who] trusts | H982 → | 120 times |
| בְּ֭עָשְׁרוֹ | beashero | in wealth his | H6239 → | 37 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִפֹּ֑ל | yipol | he will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| וְ֝כֶעָלֶ֗ה | vekhealeh | and like <the> leaf | H5929 → | |
| צַדִּיקִ֥ים | tzadikim | righteous [people] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| יִפְרָֽחוּ׃ | yifrachu | they will bud | H6524 → |
בּוֹטֵ֣חַ[one who] trusts
boteachH982 →120 times
בְּ֭עָשְׁרוֹin wealth his
beasheroH6239 →37 times
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
יִפֹּ֑לhe will fall
yipolH5307 →435 times
וְ֝כֶעָלֶ֗הand like <the> leaf
vekhealehH5929 →
צַדִּיקִ֥יםrighteous [people]
tzadikimH6662 →206 times
יִפְרָֽחוּ׃they will bud
yifrachuH6524 →
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
Psalms 1:3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:8
He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not…
- Ezekiel 47:12
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of all kinds will grow. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fruit, because the water from…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 92:14
In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain,
- John 15:6
If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
- Ezekiel 19:10
Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of the abundant waters.
- Jeremiah 17:8
Through
Jeremiah 17:8He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not…
it leads to
- Psalms 1:3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
- Isaiah 58:11
The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
- Ezekiel 31:4–10
The waters made it grow; the deep springs made it tall, directing their streams all around its base and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.
- Psalms 1:3
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
