Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

PROVERBS 13:11KJV
Know the Bible

Proverbs 13:11 (KJV)

What does Proverbs 13:11 mean?

Proverbs 13:11 teaches that money gained quickly and dishonestly will not last, but wealth built gradually through hard work will grow over time. The verse contrasts fleeting, empty gain with the steady increase that comes from diligent effort.

This proverb is part of a collection of wise sayings attributed to Solomon, offering practical advice to the reader or listener—often imagined as a young person learning about life. The verse uses everyday experiences with money to highlight the value of honest labor and the risks of chasing easy riches.

The Hebrew behind Proverbs 13:11

  • "Wealth" (הוֹן, hon; H1952) refers to possessions or riches, not just money. The word covers anything of value a person might accumulate.
  • "Vanity" (הֶבֶל, hevel; H1892) means emptiness, worthlessness, or something insubstantial. Here, it points to wealth gained in a way that lacks substance or honesty.
  • "Diminished" (מָעַט, ma'at; H4591) carries the sense of shrinking or being reduced. The proverb warns that wealth gained by empty means will not last.
  • "Gathereth" (קָבַץ, qavats; H6908) means to collect or gather bit by bit. This highlights the slow, steady process of building wealth.
  • "Labour" (יָד, yad; H3027) literally means "hand," but often represents work or effort in Hebrew. The verse emphasizes wealth earned by one's own effort.
  • "Increase" (רָבָה, ravah; H7235) means to grow or multiply, showing that honest work leads to lasting gain.

Why Proverbs 13:11 matters

  • Proverbs 13:11 clarifies that the Bible does not condemn wealth itself, but warns against gaining it through dishonest or reckless means.
  • The verse highlights a principle seen throughout Proverbs: steady, honest effort is more reliable than shortcuts or schemes.
  • This proverb connects to a larger theme in Proverbs about character and wisdom, showing that how one gains wealth matters as much as the wealth itself.

Where else these words appear

“diminished” Hebrew H4591 · used in 21 verses

  • Exodus 12:4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
  • Numbers 11:32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
  • Psalms 107:39 Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.

“Wealth” Hebrew H1952 · used in 26 verses

  • Psalms 44:12 Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.
  • Proverbs 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
  • Proverbs 28:22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

“vanity” Hebrew H1892 · used in 64 verses

  • Deuteronomy 32:21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
  • Ecclesiastes 2:1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.
  • Ecclesiastes 7:15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.

“gathereth” Hebrew H6908 · used in 121 verses

  • Genesis 41:35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.
  • 2 Chronicles 32:4 So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?
  • Jeremiah 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.