Proverbs by theme
Money
Wealth, poverty, debt and an open hand.
- 3:9-10Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
- 3:27-28Do not withhold good from the deserving when it is within your power to act. Do not tell your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I will provide”—when you already have the means.
- 6:1-5My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger, if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, to free yourself, for you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go, humble yourself, and press your plea with your neighbor. Allow no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
- 8:17-21I love those who love me, and those who seek me early shall find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, pure gold, and my harvest surpasses choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full.
- 10:2Ill-gotten treasures profit nothing, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.
- 10:15The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
- 11:4Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.
- 11:15He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but the one who hates indebtedness is secure.
- 11:24One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
- 11:25A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
- 11:26The people will curse the hoarder of grain, but blessing will crown the one who sells it.
- 11:28He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.
- 12:9Better to be lightly esteemed yet have a servant, than to be self-important but lack food.
- 13:7One pretends to be rich, but has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
- 13:8Riches may ransom a man’s life, but a poor man hears no threat.
- 13:11Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied.
- 13:22A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.
- 13:25A righteous man eats to his heart’s content, but the stomach of the wicked is empty.
- 14:24The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the effort of fools is folly.
- 15:6The house of the righteous has great treasure, but the income of the wicked is trouble.
- 15:27He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.
- 17:18A man lacking judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.
- 18:11A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.
- 18:16A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men.
- 18:23The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.
- 19:1Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a fool whose lips are perverse.
- 19:17Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
- 19:22The desire of a man is loving devotion; better to be poor than a liar.
- 20:14“Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer, but on the way out, he gloats.
- 20:16Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.
- 20:21An inheritance gained quickly will not be blessed in the end.
- 21:6Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.
- 21:17He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.
- 22:1A good name is more desirable than great riches; favor is better than silver and gold.
- 22:7The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.
- 22:9A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
- 22:26-27Do not be one who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts. If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?
- 23:4-5Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
- 23:6-8Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies; for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
- 27:7The soul that is full loathes honey, but to a hungry soul, any bitter thing is sweet.
- 27:13Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.
- 28:6Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a rich man whose ways are perverse.
- 28:8He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.
- 28:20A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.
- 28:22A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty awaits him.
- 28:27Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need, but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses.
- 30:7-9Two things I ask of You—do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.
- 31:20She opens her arms to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.