Proverbs 13:11 - Exposition

Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished; literally, wealth by a breath ; i.e. wealth obtained without labour and exertion, or by illegitimate and dishonest means, is soon dissipated, is not blessed by God, and has no stability. Vulgate, "riches acquired hastily;" Septuagint, "substance gotten hastily with iniquity." This makes the antithesis more marked, the contrast being between wealth gotten hastily and that acquired by diligent labour. Cito nata, cito pereunt, "Quickly won, quickly gone" (see on Proverbs 20:21 ; Proverbs 21:5 ). Says the Greek maxim—

΄ὴ σπεῦδε πλουτεῖν μὴ ταχὺς πένης γένῃ

"Haste not for wealth, lest thou be quickly poor."

He that gathereth by labour; literally, with the hand, handful after handful. Vulgate, paulatim, "little by little," by patient industry. Labor improbus omnia vincit. Septuagint, "He that gathereth for himself with piety shall be increased." Then is added, "A good man is merciful and lendeth," from Psalms 37:26 . The Septuagint here uses the term εὐσέβεια , which is received in St. Paul's pastoral Epistles and St. Peter's, taking the place of the earlier phrase, φόβος κυρίου ,