Proverbs 11 · Verse 25

Proverbs 11:25

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

Proverbs 11:25, King James Version

Proverbs 11:25 in other translations

BSB	A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
WEB	The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.
ASV	The liberal soul shall be made fat; And he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
YLT	A liberal soul is made fat, And whoso is watering, he also is watered.
DARBY	The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
BBE	He who gives blessing will be made fat, but the curser will himself be cursed.
Webster	The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

What does Proverbs 11:25 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.

Read the full comment on Proverbs 11:24-31 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 25 The liberal soul shall be made fat - He who gives to the distressed, in the true spirit of charity, shall get a hundred fold from God's mercy. How wonderful is the Lord! He gives the property, gives the heart to use it aright, and recompenses the man for the deed though all the fruit was found from himself! He that watereth - A man who distributes in the right spirit gets more good himself than the poor man does who receives the bounty. Thus it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

Both in temporal and spiritual things, God commonly deals with his people according to the measure by which they deal with their brethren.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 11:25 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.

נֶֽפֶשׁ\־ne.fesh-a person ofH5315

בְּרָכָ֥הbe.ra.KhahblessingH1293

תְדֻשָּׁ֑ןte.du.Shanhe will be made fatH1878

וּ֝מַרְוֶ֗הu.mar.Vehand [one who] gives waterH7301

גַּם\־gam-alsoH1571

ה֥וּאhu'heH1931

יוֹרֶֽא\׃yo.Re'he will be given waterH3384

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

Cross references for Proverbs 11:25

Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
2 Corinthians 9:6-9
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: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
Isaiah 58:7-11
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: …
Matthew 25:34-35
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Isaiah 32:8
But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
Proverbs 28:27
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
Job 29:13-18
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. …
Job 31:16-20
If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;) If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; …

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

liberal soul. Heb. soul of blessing.
28:27; Job 29:13-18; 31:16-20; Isa 32:8; 58:7-11; Mt 5:7; 25:34,35

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

Context

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.
Proverbs 11:26
He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.

Read all of Proverbs 11

Proverbs 11:25 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	El alma liberal será engordada: y el que saciare, él también será saciado.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	L’âme qui bénit sera engraissée, et celui qui arrose sera lui-même arrosé.
German Elberfelder 1871	Die segnende Seele wird reichlich gesättigt, und der Tränkende wird auch selbst getränkt.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Anima quæ benedicit impinguabitur, et qui inebriat, ipse quoque inebriabitur.