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Proverbs 11

Proverbs 11 traces how integrity and generosity sustain life, while deceit, destructive speech, and trust in wealth bring ruin.

A false balance in the marketplace opens a collection of sayings about how conduct shapes life before YHWH. The wisdom teacher addresses those seeking instruction, contrasting upright people with those who deceive or pursue evil. Attention moves from business dealings to speech, civic life, and the use of wealth. Generosity receives special attention near the end, while repeated warnings about death and judgment place everyday choices under God's rule.

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1A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but accurate weights are his delight.
2When pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility comes wisdom.
3The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
4Riches don’t profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
5The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way, but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
6The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them, but the unfaithful will be trapped by evil desires.
7When a wicked man dies, hope perishes, and expectation of power comes to nothing.
8A righteous person is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked takes his place.
9With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but the righteous will be delivered through knowledge.
10When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there is shouting.
11By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
12One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding holds his peace.
13One who brings gossip betrays a confidence, but one who is of a trustworthy spirit is one who keeps a secret.
14Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.
15He who is collateral for a stranger will suffer for it, but he who refuses pledges of collateral is secure.
16A gracious woman obtains honor, but violent men obtain riches.
17The merciful man does good to his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.
18Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
19He who is truly righteous gets life. He who pursues evil gets death.
20Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those whose ways are blameless are his delight.
21Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.
22Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.
23The desire of the righteous is only good. The expectation of the wicked is wrath.
24There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.
25The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.
26People curse someone who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
27He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who searches after evil, it shall come to him.
28He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.
29He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.
30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.
31Behold, the righteous shall be repaid on the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Proverbs 11:24This saying challenges the assumption that holding more guarantees having more, introducing the chapter's concentrated teaching on generosity.
Proverbs 11:30The tree of life image shows righteousness bearing fruit that reaches beyond the righteous person to others.
Proverbs 11:18The contrast between deceitful wages and a sure harvest places lasting confidence in righteousness rather than dishonest gain.
Where this chapter reaches

Psalm shares the chapter's contrast between flourishing righteousness and the collapse of wicked hopes, including the image of flourishing vegetation. 2 Corinthians shares its sowing imagery and teaching about generosity, while Luke also connects giving with receiving and warns against placing confidence in wealth.

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After reading the whole chapter

Which contrast in this chapter makes you reconsider how your words affect the people around you?

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How do the sayings about generosity and wealth challenge your idea of security?

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Questions people ask about Proverbs 11

Does Proverbs 11:24–25 promise that giving will make you rich?

These sayings describe generosity as fruitful and excessive withholding as self-defeating. They belong to wisdom teaching about the shape of life under God's rule. They give no formula for a financial return on each gift. The surrounding verses warn that wealth cannot save from judgment and that trusting riches leads to ruin.

What does “He who is wise wins souls” mean in Proverbs 11:30?

The phrase follows the image of righteousness as a life-giving tree. It presents wisdom as reaching other people with life-giving influence. The exact sense of “wins souls” is debated, but the verse contains no description of a conversion method. Its immediate focus is the fruit that righteousness bears in human lives.

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What the Bible says about money →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).