Proverbs 11 · Verse 24

Proverbs 11:24

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
Proverbs 11:24, King James Version

Proverbs 11:24 in other translations

BSBOne gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
WEBThere is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.
ASVThere is that scattereth, and increaseth yet more; And there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth only to want.
YLTThere is who is scattering, and yet is increased, And who is keeping back from uprightness, only to want.
DARBYThere is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is right, but it tendeth only to want.
BBEA man may give freely, and still his wealth will be increased; and another may keep back more than is right, but only comes to be in need.
WebsterThere is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

What does Proverbs 11:24 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 11:24-31
24-31. The scope of the whole is a comment on Pr 11:23. Thus liberality, by God's blessing, secures increase, while penuriousness, instead of expected gain, procures poverty.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth - The bountiful man, who gives to the poor, never turning away his face from any one in distress, the Lord blesses his property and the bread is multiplied in his hand. To the same purpose the following verse.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
A man may grow poor by not paying just debts, not relieving the poor, not allowing needful expenses. Let men be ever so saving of what they have, if God appoints, it comes to nothing.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 11:24 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יֵ֣שׁyeshthereH3426
מְ֭פַזֵּרMe.fa.zer[is one who] scattersH6340
וְנוֹסָ֥ףve.no.Safand [who is] increasedH3254
ע֑וֹדodstillH5750
וְחוֹשֵׂ֥ךְve.cho.Sekhand [one who] withholdsH2820
מִ֝יֹּ֗שֶׁרmi.Yo.sherfrom uprightnessH3476
אַךְ\־'akh-onlyH389
לְמַחְסֽוֹר\׃le.mach.Sorto povertyH4270

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Proverbs 11:24

  • Proverbs 19:17

    He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

  • Luke 6:38

    Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

  • Deuteronomy 15:10

    Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.

  • Psalms 112:9

    He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.

  • Ecclesiastes 11:6

    In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

  • Haggai 1:6

    Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

  • Haggai 1:9-11

    Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

  • 2 Corinthians 9:5-11

    Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness. But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: …

  • Proverbs 11:18

    The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.

  • Haggai 2:16-19

    Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the Lord. Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

  • Proverbs 28:8

    He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.

  • Acts 11:29-30

    Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
that scattereth.
18; 19:17; 28:8; De 15:10; Ps 112:9; Ec 11:1,2,6; Lu 6:38
Ac 11:29,30; 2Co 9:5-11
but.
Hag 1:6,9-11; 2:16-19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Proverbs 11:23

    The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

  • Proverbs 11:24

    There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

  • Proverbs 11:25

    The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

Read all of Proverbs 11

Proverbs 11:24 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Hay quienes reparten, y les es añadido más: y hay quienes son escasos más de lo que es justo, mas vienen á pobreza.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Tel disperse, et augmente encore; et tel retient plus qu’il ne faut, mais n’en a que disette.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da ist einer, der ausstreut, und er bekommt noch mehr; und einer, der mehr spart als recht ist, und es ist nur zum Mangel.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Alii dividunt propria, et ditiores fiunt; alii rapiunt non sua, et semper in egestate sunt.