Bible Strands
Proverbs 14:24
The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the effort of fools is folly.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author of Proverbs addresses Israel’s people within a structured collection of practical instruction, placing this saying between verses that contrast productive labor with idle talk and truthful testimony with deceit.
The words — עֲטֶרֶת ('a.Te.ret) translates literally as "crown," and אִוּלֶת ('i.Ve.let) means "folly" or "worthlessness."
The thread — The verse’s pairing of wisdom with lasting gain and foolish labor with ruin runs parallel to Ecclesiastes 7:11, Psalm 112:9, and Luke 12:19, where material provision and loss are consistently measured against moral and spiritual standing.
Why it lands — It requires readers to judge their daily pursuits by their actual outcomes, choosing disciplined wisdom over empty effort that yields only destruction.
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
The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 7:11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
- Psalms 112:9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
- Luke 12:19 Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
- Luke 16:9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
- Luke 16:19 Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
- Psalms 49:10 For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.
- Proverbs 27:22 Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.
- Isaiah 33:6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.