Proverbs 12:11
in Proverbs 12The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks judgment.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread; But he that followeth after vain persons is void of understanding.
KJV
He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.
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This verse in Proverbs 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The contrast is carried on between the life of industry and that of the idle, “vain person” of the “baser sort” (the “Raca” of Mat 5:22). We might have expected that the second clause would have ended with such words as “shall lack bread,” but the contrast goes deeper. Idleness leads to a worse evil than that of hunger.
This site's exposition
The one who works his land will have plenty of food
on Proverbs 12:11-12
He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread commends steady labor against the man who follows vain persons. The wicked desireth the net of evil men, wanting the plunder without the planting, while the root of the righteous yields fruit on its own.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He who works his land, etc. Who exercises his soul with spiritual studies will now be satisfied with virtues and then with the feasts of rewards. But he who refuses to labor for the salvation of his soul, will then be numbered among the foolish; …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He that tilleth his land - God’s blessing will be in the labor of the honest agriculturist. But he that followeth vain persons - He who, while he should be cultivating his ground, preparing for a future crop, or reaping his harvest, associates with fowlers, coursers of hares, hunters of foxes, or those engaged in any champaign amusements, is void of understanding; and I have known several such come to beggary. To this verse the Septuagint add the following clause: ‘ov estin en oinwn diatribaiv, en toiv eautou ocurwmasi kataleiqei atimian. “He who is a boon companion in banquets, shall leave dishonor in his own fortresses.” This has been copied by the Vulgate and the Arabic. That is The man who frequents the ale-house enriches that, while he impoverishes his own habitation.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
He who tills his soil will be sated with bread To be understood according to its apparent meaning, but according to its allegorical meaning, [this means] he who constantly reviews his studies lest they be forgotten.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
A righteous man has regard for the desire of his beast What his beasts and his household members need.
The wicked man yearns to gain sustenance and maintenance from the prey of the wicked, who prey on people with robbery and violence.
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. 2 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֹבֵ֣ד | ʾoved | [one who] works | H5647 → | |
| אַ֭דְמָתוֹ | ʾadmato | land his | H127 → | |
| יִֽשְׂבַּֽע־ | yisba'- | he will be satisfied | H7646 → | 97 times |
| לָ֑חֶם | lachem | food | H3899 → | 298 times |
| וּמְרַדֵּ֖ף | umeradef | and [one who] pursues | H7291 → | 143 times |
| רֵיקִ֣ים | reikim | worthless things | H7386 → | |
| חֲסַר־ | chasar- | [is] lacking of | H2638 → | 17 times |
| לֵֽב׃ | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
עֹבֵ֣ד[one who] works
ʾovedH5647 →
אַ֭דְמָתוֹland his
ʾadmatoH127 →
יִֽשְׂבַּֽע־he will be satisfied
yisba'-H7646 →97 times
לָ֑חֶםfood
lachemH3899 →298 times
וּמְרַדֵּ֖ףand [one who] pursues
umeradefH7291 →143 times
רֵיקִ֣יםworthless things
reikimH7386 →
חֲסַר־[is] lacking of
chasar-H2638 →17 times
לֵֽב׃heart
levH3820 →595 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
Psalms 128:2For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours.
it leads to
- Isaiah 3:10
Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Isaiah 62:8
The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain to your enemies for food, nor will foreigners drink the new wine for which…
- Isaiah 65:21–23
They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
- Ecclesiastes 5:18–19
Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life…
- Deuteronomy 28:4
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
- Isaiah 3:10
Through
Proverbs 14:23There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:19
The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.
- Proverbs 12:24
The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:10–12
For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”
- Proverbs 28:19
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; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).