Proverbs 23:4
Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
In context
1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, 2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. 3 Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. 4 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. 5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. 6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, 7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
Compare in other versions
- KJV King James Version
— Proverbs 23:4 in the KJV
Labour not to be rich: Cease from thine own wisdom.
- NIV New International Version
— Proverbs 23:4 in the NIV
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.