"Do not weary yourself to gain wealth; cease from your consideration of it.
When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.
For wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens" (Proverbs 23:4–5, NASB).
Solomon — the wealthiest king in Israel's history — wrote one of Scripture's sharpest warnings against the pursuit of wealth.
The Hebrew imagery is vivid, the literary setting is intentional, and the proverb's modern application reaches into the deepest assumptions of consumer culture.
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The Hebrew words "Do not weary yourself" is Hebrew al-tigah from the verb yaga — to toil to the point of exhaustion.
The verb describes the exhaustion of a slave, the soldier broken by long marches, the laborer collapsed at sundown.
Solomon is not condemning hard work — he commends it everywhere — but a particular kind of work: work driven beyond reason by the desire to accumulate. "Cease from your consideration of it" is min-binatkha chadel — literally, "from your understanding, stop." The Hebrew suggests calling off the obsessive mental calculation.
The wealth-pursuer is not just working hard; he is calculating hard, scheming, mentally rehearsing the next deal.
Solomon says: stop doing that. "When you set your eyes on it, it is gone" — ha'ta'if einekha bo v'einennu .
The verb uph behind "set your eyes" is the same root that gives "fly" later in the verse.
There is a Hebrew wordplay: the eye that flits to wealth finds wealth that has flown away.
The verse is poetry, not proposition. "Wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle" — Hebrew asoh ya'aseh-lo kenaphayim k'nesher .
The image is of riches spontaneously sprouting eagle's wings and flying upward toward the sky.
The Hebrew is vivid: wealth is not stolen; it grows wings on its own.
It departs of its own accord.
The literary setting: the sayings of the wise Proverbs 23:4–5 sits within "the sayings of the wise" (Proverbs 22:17 – 24:22), a collection of thirty short instructions to a young man being trained in court wisdom.
The collection is bookended by warnings against various forms of money-chasing: against moving the ancient landmark (22:28), against eating with a stingy man (23:6–8), against putting trust in the words of the rich (23:1–3), against borrowing on the strength of others (22:26–27).
Verses 4–5 sit in this cluster of money cautions deliberately.
The young man in view is being trained for influence in a wealthy court.
The temptation specific to him is the temptation specific to the modern professional — to weary himself for advancement, to scheme constantly, to set his eyes on accumulation.
Solomon meets that temptation head-on with this proverb.
Why wealth flies Solomon names a phenomenon every generation rediscovers.
Wealth flies for predictable reasons: Inflation.
Money loses purchasing power over time; what was a fortune in one decade is a modest sum in the next.
Market loss.
Investments collapse, companies fail, currencies devalue, real estate crashes.
Theft and fraud.
Wealth attracts predators; protecting it consumes it.
Lifestyle inflation.
The hoarder discovers his expanded life requires the wealth he meant to save.
Health and longevity.
Medical costs and longer lives erode reserves.
Death.
Solomon lays this out explicitly in Ecclesiastes 2:18-21 — "I must leave it to the man who will come after me… and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?" The proverb is not anti-wealth; it is anti-trust-in-wealth.
The flying-eagle image is a permanent commentary on the instability of money as a foundation for life.
What the verse does not teach Three clarifications keep the proverb from being misread: It does not teach poverty as a virtue.
Solomon elsewhere praises diligent work and the rewards it brings (Prov 10:4, 14:23, 31:16-18).
The proverb targets the obsessive pursuit, not the prudent accumulation.
It does not forbid saving.
Proverbs 6:6-8 commands the ant's saving.
Joseph stored grain.
Wisdom literature consistently rewards prudent stewardship.
The line is internal: are you stewarding wealth, or are you wearying yourself for it? It does not condemn business success.
A wealthy Christian can be a faithful steward; a poor Christian can be a covetous fool.
The diagnosis is interior, not external.
Application: the diagnostic questions Several questions help apply the proverb honestly: Am I wearying myself? If sleep, family, worship, and health are being eroded by the pursuit of more, the proverb has found its target.
Am I obsessively considering it? If the mind constantly scrolls portfolios, calculates gains, scripts deals — at the dinner table, in worship, in bed — that is the consideration Solomon says to cease.
Where would my eyes flit if money were no concern? Honest answers reveal where treasure actually is.
What proportion is given away? A wealthy life with high giving suggests stewardship; a wealthy life with little giving suggests accumulation.
Could I lose it without losing my joy? If the answer is no, the eagle is too tightly held.
The corrective: contentment + diligence Paul gives the New Testament version of this proverb in 1 Timothy 6:6-10 — "Godliness with contentment is great gain… but those who desire to be rich fall into temptation." The remedy is not laziness; it is diligence married to contentment.
Work hard.
Steward well.
Give generously.
Refuse the wearying.
Let the eagle fly when God lets it fly.
For continued study, see our exegesis of 1 Timothy 6:10 , our Ecclesiastes 5:10 study , our walkthrough of Matthew 6:24 (God or money) , our Proverbs 13:11 study , and our Bible verses about contentment .
Translate the proverb into structure with our Budget Calculator and Tithe Calculator .
All Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.