Proverbs 23:4-5
Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This verse doesn't just warn against greed, it highlights a subtle trap: the very "wisdom" we use to build our lives can become our downfall if it's solely focused on accumulating wealth. It urges us to recognize that this worldly discernment, while useful for earthly success, is insufficient for true life and can blind us to more important, lasting treasures.
This proverb appears within a larger section advising about table manners and interactions with wealthy hosts. Solomon is not forbidding honest work, but rather warns against an obsessive pursuit of wealth and trusting solely in one's own cleverness to achieve it, as riches are ultimately unreliable and fleeting.
We're told to work hard, but this verse puts a surprising limit on our ambition. What does it mean to 'not toil to acquire wealth'?
This verse warns against an excessive, all-consuming pursuit of wealth. It’s not about laziness or neglecting honest work, but about avoiding the 'weariness' (as the Hebrew suggests) that comes from making riches the ultimate goal.
Chasing a Mirage
The verse tells us to 'cease from your own wisdom.' What kind of wisdom is Solomon talking about, and why should we stop using it?
Solomon here contrasts worldly 'wisdom'—our natural cleverness and shrewdness in accumulating possessions—with a higher, God-given wisdom. This 'own wisdom' often tells us that happiness and security are found in wealth, leading us to prioritize its pursuit above all else.
The Limits of Human Ingenuity
Understand the original words
yaga' · Hebrew Verb
To work hard, labor extensively, or weary oneself. In a spiritual context, it often refers to futile human efforts exerted in place of trust in God’s provision.
hon · Hebrew Noun
Material possessions, riches, or substance. Proverbs consistently warns that these are temporary, potentially idolatrous, and secondary to spiritual wisdom.
biynah · Hebrew Noun/Adjective (as used in text)
The capacity for sound judgment, insight, and the ability to distinguish between truth and error or wisdom and folly. It is a gift from God essential for righteous living.
This passage directly warns against the dangers of greed and the deceptive nature of possessions, echoing Proverbs' caution against toiling for wealth.
1 Timothy 6:10This New Testament verse highlights that the 'love of money' is a root of all kinds of evil, reinforcing the idea that an excessive pursuit of riches, as cautioned against in Proverbs, can lead to spiritual harm.
Ecclesiastes 5:10Similar to Proverbs, this verse points out the futility of loving money, stating that wealth 'satisfies no one,' and those who chase after it can never get enough.
Matthew 6:19-20Jesus encourages believers not to store up treasures on earth, where they can be corrupted, but to store them in heaven, aligning with Proverbs' advice to desist from toiling for earthly riches and to focus on what truly lasts.
jfbProverbs 23:4: "Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom."
4, 5. (Compare 1Ti 6:9, 10).thine own wisdom—which regards riches intrinsically as a blessing.
bensonProverbs 23:4: "Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom."
Proverbs 23:4-5 . Labour not — Hebrew, אל תיגע , Do not weary thyself, namely, with immoderate cares and labours, as many covetous men do; to be rich — To raise an estate, and make thy property abundantly more than it is. Solomon does not forbid all labour, nor a provident care, which he commends in other places; but only represents how vain and foolish it is to be over solicitous, and to carry our cares and labours to such ex…
This verse doesn't just warn against greed, it highlights a subtle trap: the very "wisdom" we use to build our lives can become our downfall if it's solely focused on accumulating wealth. It urges us to recognize that this worldly discernment, while useful for earthly success, is insufficient for true life and can blind us to more important, lasting treasures.
This proverb appears within a larger section advising about table manners and interactions with wealthy hosts. Solomon is not forbidding honest work, but rather warns against an obsessive pursuit of wealth and trusting solely in one's own cleverness to achieve it, as riches are ultimately unreliable and fleeting.
This proverb appears within a larger section advising about table manners and interactions with wealthy hosts. Solomon is not forbidding honest work, but rather warns against an obsessive pursuit of wealth and trusting solely in one's own cleverness to achieve it, as riches are ultimately unreliable and fleeting.
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"Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven." — This verse doesn't just warn against greed, it highlights a subtle trap: the very "wisdom" we use to build our lives can become our downfall if it's solely focused on accumulating wealth. It urges us…
