Proverbs 23:4
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.
In context
1 When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, 2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. 3 Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. 4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. 5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. 6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; 7 for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “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.
- ESV English Standard Version
— Proverbs 23:4 in the ESV
Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.