Bible Strands
Proverbs 11:24
One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Solomon's instructional wisdom, addressed to his son and the broader reader, placed within a rapid series of contrast couplets (11:22–25) pitting the righteous against the wicked.
The words — מְפַזֵּר (mefaẓzer) means "scatters," a physical image of flinging grain outward rather than a measured handout; יֹשֶׁר (yosher) is "uprightness" or "straightness," the concrete thing the tight-fisted person actually withholds.
The thread — The principle recurs in Proverbs 19:17 (kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD), Deuteronomy 15:10 (give generously and the LORD will bless), and Luke 6:38 (give and it will be given to you, a good measure pressed down and running over).
Why it lands — It is a diagnostic, not a command: the verse asks the reader to identify which of the two portraits they are living, because the outcome—increase or poverty—is presented as the natural consequence of the pattern, not a reward or punishment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 19:17 Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
- Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
- Deuteronomy 15:10 Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand.
- Psalms 112:9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
- Ecclesiastes 11:6 Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.
- Haggai 1:6 You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”
- Haggai 1:9 You expected much, but behold, it amounted to little. And what you brought home, I blew away. Why? declares the LORD of Hosts. Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.
- Proverbs 11:18 The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.
- 2 Corinthians 9:5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you beforehand and make arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. This way, your gift will be prepared generously and not begrudgingly.
- Haggai 2:16 from that time, when one came expecting a heap of twenty ephahs of grain, there were but ten. When one came to the winepress to draw out fifty baths, there were but twenty.