Bible Strands
Proverbs 18:11
A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wisdom teacher addresses a general audience with a proverbial observation on human reliance on material resources. It is positioned between a declaration of divine refuge and a warning about pride preceding ruin.
The words — עָשִׁיר ('a.shir) denotes the wealthy person, and מַשְׂכִּיתוֹ (mas.ki.t/o) literally means his imagination or mental conception. These terms ground the verse’s claim that perceived security is a subjective mental projection.
The thread — The motif of wealth as a perceived fortress appears in Proverbs 10:15, which contrasts the rich man’s fortified city with the poor man’s ruin. Ecclesiastes 7:12 similarly notes that money, like wisdom, provides a shelter, yet both texts frame it as provisional rather than absolute.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that material confidence is a psychological construction rather than objective safety. It requires the reader to audit where they place their trust before confronting the limitations of earthly resources.
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 rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 10:15 The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
- Psalms 52:5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
- Deuteronomy 32:31 For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies concede.
- Psalms 49:6 They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
- Proverbs 11:4 Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.
- 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!”’
- Job 31:24 If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security,
- Psalms 62:10 Place no trust in extortion or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.