Proverbs 11:18 (KJV)

What does Proverbs 11:18 mean?

Proverbs 11:18 contrasts two kinds of gain. The wicked person’s work produces something deceptive: its apparent benefit cannot be trusted. The person who sows righteousness, by contrast, can count on a sure reward.

“Soweth” pictures a farmer scattering seed and later gathering a crop. The image connects present conduct with what comes from it over time. Here, “righteousness” means doing what is right and fair.

The Hebrew behind Proverbs 11:18

• “deceitful” — שֶׁקֶר (sheqer): The word can mean falsehood or something deceptive. Here it describes the wicked person’s work as offering a gain that proves unreliable.
• “soweth” — זָרַע (zaraʿ): The word means to plant or scatter seed. Its use with “righteousness” makes right conduct the seed in the picture.
• “sure” — אֱמֶת (ʾemet): The word can carry the sense of truth or dependability. It contrasts the trustworthy reward with the deceptive work in the first half.

Why Proverbs 11:18 matters

• The contrast concerns the outcome, not just the effort. The wicked person “worketh,” but the result is called “deceitful”; the other person receives a “sure reward.”
• The farming image gives the saying a sense of time passing. “Soweth righteousness” points from the planting to the reward, much as a farmer waits between sowing and harvest.