Proverbs 27:24

Pro 27:24 For riches [are] not for ever: and doth the crown [endure] to every generation?

Ver. 24. For riches endure not for ever.] Whether they be riches of inheritance or of purchase, they will waste without good husbandry. The royalty of Solomon could not have consisted for all his riches, had he not been frugal. Our Henry III merited to be called Regni dilapidator, a waste kingdom. But what a great husband, perhaps too great, was Louis XI of France, of whom ye shall find in the chamber of accounts a reckoning of two shillings for new sleeves to his old doublet, and three half pence for liquor to grease his boots (A.D. 1461)! Pertinax, the emperor, also was a singular good husband, for the which, as the rich gallants derided him, so others of us, Quibus virtus luxuria potior, laudabamus, who prized virtue above luxury, commended it in him, saith Dio the historian, who writes his life.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 24. For riches are not for ever] All other kinds of property are very transitory. Money and the highest civil honours are but for a short season. Flocks and herds, properly attended to, may be multiplied and continued from generation to generation. The crown itself is not naturally so permanent.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(24) For riches are not for ever.—Comp. Pro_23:5. So it is well to have a sure source of income, like husbandry or cattle-feeding, upon which to fall back.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The lambs are for thy clothing,.... This is another argument, exciting to diligence in the pastoral calling, taken from the profit arising from it: the wool of the lambs, or rather "sheep", as many versions render it; of it cloth is made, and of that garments to be worn, to keep decent, warm, and comfortable; see Job 31:20;

and the goats are the price of thy field: these, being brought up and sold, furnish the husbandman with money to purchase more fields to feed his cattle on. The Targum is,

"the goats are for negotiation;''

with the price of them a man may purchase any of the necessaries of life for himself and family; these are negotiated, Eze 27:21; the Syriac version is, "the goats are for thy food"; and so, between both the sheep and goats, man has both food and raiment; though his food is particularly mentioned in Pro 27:27.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Generation. Thou wilt be cited as an example of prudence, if thou hast forseen the change of thy affairs, and provided for it. In the east it was not unusual to see a general of an army reduced to the meanest condition, and economy is necessary for all.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Riches; or, treasure. The sense is, What thou dust now possess, or hast laid up, will not last always, but will soon be spent, if thou dost not take care to preserve and improve it.

The crown; by which he understands a condition of the greatest honour and plenty. If a man had the wealth of a kingdom, without provident care and due diligence it would quickly be brought to nothing. Hence the greatest kings have minded husbandry, as Solomon, Uzziah, and others.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

24. Riches are not for ever — This assigns a good reason for the preceding. Wealth, though now abundant, does not necessarily stay for ever. On the contrary, it is very liable to be lost or squandered by carelessness and bad management.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For riches are not forever; as Pro_23:5. Money and other kinds of wealth may be lost or wasted; it is therefore expedient to have the resources of agriculture, land and herds, to depend upon. Chosen, (Pro_15:6) translated "riches," is "strength," "abundance," "treasure laid up." Delitzsch renders, "prosperity;" Septuagint, "A man has not strength and power forever;" Vulgate, Non habebis jugiter potestatem, i.e. "you will not always be able to tend your flocks; infirmity and old agewill prevent you." And doth the crown endure to every generation? The crown or diadem, rzne (nezer), is the symbol of royal authority, or of the highest dignity of the priesthood. (Exo_29:6 Exo_39:30) These positions are not secure from generation to generation; much less stable, in fact, than the possession of farms and cattle. St. Jerome, Sed corona tribuetur in generationem et generationem, where corona is the headship of the family. Septuagint, "Neither doth he transmit it (his strength) from generation to generation."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For - What thou dost now possess, will not last always. If a man had the wealth of a kingdom, without care and diligence it would be brought to nothing.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

For riches are not forever For, if you are rich with silver and gold, perhaps it will not last forever. Therefore, do not despise your small things.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.