{"id":115836,"date":"2026-09-17T12:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/?p=115836"},"modified":"2026-09-17T12:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:06:18","slug":"what-does-the-bible-say-about-getting-rich-quick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/bible-resources\/bible-answers\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-getting-rich-quick\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does the Bible Say About Getting Rich Quick? Watch the Eye"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>11 Minute, 52 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div><p>Maybe it showed up in a group chat. Someone you barely know turned a small amount into a big one in a few weeks. There is a screenshot, a link, and a line that says the window is closing.<\/p>\n\n<p>And something in you tightens. Not greed, exactly. More like the fear of being the only one who missed it.<\/p>\n\n<p>So what does the Bible say about getting rich quick? More than you might expect, and not quite what most people assume. The book of Proverbs never says money is the problem. It pays close attention to something else: what the hurry does to the person who is hurrying.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What Does the Bible Say About Getting Rich Quick? Start With Proverbs 28:22<\/h2>\n\n<p>The clearest line on this in the whole Bible is one short proverb:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.&#8221; (Proverbs 28:22)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n<p>Notice what it does not say. It does not say &#8220;he that is rich.&#8221; It does not say &#8220;he that works hard to earn more.&#8221; The warning is aimed at the haste. The rushing. The need to have it now.<\/p>\n\n<p>And the verse says two things about the person who rushes. They have an &#8220;evil eye.&#8221; And they do not see what is coming.<\/p>\n\n<p>Both of those are worth slowing down for, because that is exactly what the verse is asking us to do.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"convertkit-form wp-block-convertkit-form\" style=\"\"><script async data-uid=\"c87e3ed518\" src=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.kit.com\/c87e3ed518\/index.js\" data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" data-no-defer=\"1\" data-no-optimize=\"1\" nowprocket><\/script><\/div>\n\n\n<h2>What &#8220;An Evil Eye&#8221; Meant in Proverbs<\/h2>\n\n<p>Today &#8220;evil eye&#8221; sounds like a curse, or a charm you hang up for protection. In the Hebrew of Proverbs it was an everyday phrase with a plain meaning. A &#8220;bad eye&#8221; described a stingy, grudging person, someone who watches what they have and resents what anyone else gets.<\/p>\n\n<p>You can see it by letting Proverbs explain itself. Proverbs 23:6 says, &#8220;Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats.&#8221; That is the host who counts every bite you take. Proverbs 22:9 gives the opposite: &#8220;He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.&#8221; A good eye is a generous eye.<\/p>\n\n<p>So Proverbs 28:22 makes an observation you might not expect. The person in a hurry to get rich is not described as ambitious or clever. They are described as tight-fisted. The rush and the grip go together.<\/p>\n\n<p>That rings true, doesn&#8217;t it? When you are racing to catch up, every coin you give away feels like a step backward. Generosity needs a little breathing room, and hurry takes the breathing room away.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Why the Person in a Hurry Doesn&#8217;t See It Coming<\/h2>\n\n<p>The second half of the verse says the hasty person &#8220;considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.&#8221; The loss is not hidden. There just isn&#8217;t time to look.<\/p>\n\n<p>Proverbs keeps coming back to this:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.&#8221; (Proverbs 21:5)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.&#8221; (Proverbs 20:21)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.&#8221; (Proverbs 14:15)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Put those side by side and a pattern shows up. The deal that says &#8220;decide now&#8221; is asking you to skip the one step Proverbs keeps asking for: look well where you are going.<\/p>\n\n<p>That is not just an old idea. It is how pressure selling still works. A countdown clock. &#8220;Only a few spots left.&#8221; A mentor who gets annoyed when you ask a simple question. The pressure is not a side detail. It is how the whole thing works, because a scheme that could survive a good night&#8217;s sleep would not need to rush you.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Does Fast Money Really Leave Fast? The Detail in the Hebrew<\/h2>\n\n<p>Many people quote Proverbs 13:11 as the Bible&#8217;s get-rich-quick verse. In the King James Version it reads: &#8220;Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p>Some modern Bibles translate the first half as wealth gained &#8220;hastily.&#8221; But here is a detail most people never hear. The idea of speed comes from the ancient Greek and Latin translations of Proverbs. The Revised Standard Version, for example, followed those old translations here. The Hebrew itself says wealth &#8220;from vanity,&#8221; and that Hebrew word for vanity literally means breath, or vapor. It is the same word Ecclesiastes uses when it calls life under the sun &#8220;vanity.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p>So the verse is less about speed than about substance. Money made out of air, whether hype, a trick, or a promise with nothing underneath, thins out like breath on a cold window.<\/p>\n\n<p>The other half is just as down to earth. The one who &#8220;gathereth by labour&#8221; is, word for word, the one who gathers &#8220;by hand.&#8221; Translators usually take that to mean a little at a time.<\/p>\n\n<p>Here is what is striking. The two ancient readings, &#8220;from vapor&#8221; and &#8220;in a hurry,&#8221; land in the same place. Money made from nothing and money grabbed in a rush tend to be the same money. And notice the verse is not against increase at all. The one who gathers by hand &#8220;shall increase.&#8221; We looked at how this same proverb speaks to betting in <a href=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/bible-resources\/bible-answers\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-gambling\/\">What Does the Bible Say About Gambling?<\/a><\/p>\n\n<h2>So Is Wanting More Money Wrong?<\/h2>\n\n<p>Proverbs does not treat money as dirty. In Proverbs, wisdom builds houses, plants fields, and feeds families. But it does not hand out a blank cheque either:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.&#8221; (Proverbs 23:4-5)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n<p>Look at the eyes again. &#8220;Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?&#8221; The thing Proverbs keeps circling is not the money. It is where your eyes are fixed.<\/p>\n\n<p>The New Testament says the same thing in its own way. &#8220;But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition&#8221; (1 Timothy 6:9). The warning is for &#8220;they that will be rich,&#8221; people who have decided they must be. Not people who simply have money. If you have ever wondered why more never feels like enough, <a href=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/money-and-finance\/finance\/why-more-money-never-feels-like-enough-ecclesiastes\/\">Ecclesiastes 5:10 noticed that too<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Jesus Used the Same Eye Language<\/h2>\n\n<p>This is where it gets interesting. In Matthew 6, Jesus is talking about money. &#8220;For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also&#8221; (Matthew 6:21).<\/p>\n\n<p>Then comes a line that can seem to wander off topic: &#8220;The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness&#8221; (Matthew 6:22-23).<\/p>\n\n<p>And then straight back to money: &#8220;Ye cannot serve God and mammon&#8221; (Matthew 6:24).<\/p>\n\n<p>It is not off topic at all. Jesus was speaking to people who knew the old phrase. Many Bible scholars read these verses in that light: the &#8220;evil&#8221; eye is the grasping, stingy eye of Proverbs 28:22, and the &#8220;single&#8221; eye is the clear, open-handed one. Sitting between treasure and mammon, the point is hard to miss. The way you look at money decides how much light gets into the rest of your life.<\/p>\n\n<h2>The Hurry Is the Thing God Offers to Settle<\/h2>\n\n<p>Put it all together and the Bible&#8217;s answer on getting rich quick is gentler and deeper than a rule. It is not mainly saying &#8220;don&#8217;t make money.&#8221; It is saying: notice the hurry. The hurry narrows your eye. It makes you grip. It stops you looking where you are going.<\/p>\n\n<p>And underneath the hurry there is usually fear. Fear of being left behind. Fear that there won&#8217;t be enough. Fear that everyone else figured something out and you didn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n\n<p>That fear is exactly what God offers to lift. Right after the verses about the eye, Jesus points to birds that are fed and wildflowers that are clothed, none of them in a panic. The scheme says you are running out of time. God&#8217;s answer is that you are not on your own, and you are not behind. The one who gathers by hand, a little at a time, is not losing the race. They are building on something that isn&#8217;t vapor.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Try This Today<\/h2>\n\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Name the hurry.<\/strong> The next time an offer makes your chest tighten, ask yourself, &#8220;What is rushing me here?&#8221; If the answer is a countdown, a closing window, or a person who pushes back on questions, you have your answer.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use the one-night rule.<\/strong> Never put money into anything on the same day you first hear about it. Sleep on it and look well where you are going. Anything real will still be there tomorrow.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Take one &#8220;by hand&#8221; step.<\/strong> Pick one small amount you could set aside this week, even a very small one, and see how a goal grows over time with the free <a href=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/how-long-will-it-take-me-to-save\/\">How Long Will It Take Me to Save?<\/a> calculator. Or give something small away today. A generous eye loosens the grip that hurry builds.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h2>For Your Journal<\/h2>\n\n<ul>\n<li>When have you felt afraid of being left behind with money, and what did that fear make you want to do?<\/li>\n<li>Where are your eyes most fixed right now: on what you have, on what others have, or on what you might miss?<\/li>\n<li>What would you do differently this month if you truly believed you were not behind?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2>A Prayer for When You Feel Behind<\/h2>\n\n<p>God, I&#8217;ll be honest: I feel behind, and part of me wants a shortcut. Slow me down enough to look where I&#8217;m going. Loosen my grip, and give me a generous eye instead of a grasping one. Help me trust that what I gather by hand, a little at a time, is not wasted. And when fear tells me I&#8217;m running out of time, remind me that I&#8217;m not running out of You. Amen.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What Do You Think?<\/h2>\n\n<p>Here is a question we would love your take on: is the pull toward get-rich-quick schemes mostly about greed, or mostly about the fear of being left behind? Tell us what you think in the comments.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"convertkit-form wp-block-convertkit-form\" style=\"\"><script async data-uid=\"c87e3ed518\" src=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.kit.com\/c87e3ed518\/index.js\" data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" data-no-defer=\"1\" data-no-optimize=\"1\" nowprocket><\/script><\/div>\n\n\n<h2>Share This<\/h2>\n\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye.&#8221; In Hebrew, an evil eye meant a stingy one. The rush to get rich and the tight grip go together. (Proverbs 28:22)<\/li>\n<li>I always read Proverbs 13:11 as &#8220;fast money leaves fast.&#8221; The Hebrew actually says wealth made from vapor. Anything built on hype thins out like breath.<\/li>\n<li>Every scheme I&#8217;ve ever seen says &#8220;decide now.&#8221; Proverbs says the prudent man &#8220;looketh well to his going.&#8221; The pressure is the warning sign.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2>Questions and Answers (Q&amp;A)<\/h2>\n\n<h3>What does the Bible say about getting rich quick?<\/h3>\n<p>The Bible warns against rushing to get rich rather than against earning money. Proverbs 28:22 says, &#8220;He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him,&#8221; linking haste for wealth with stinginess and with failing to see loss coming. Proverbs 21:5 says the hasty come &#8220;only to want,&#8221; and Proverbs 20:21 says an inheritance &#8220;gotten hastily at the beginning&#8221; will not be blessed in the end. Proverbs 13:11 also says the person who gathers by labour &#8220;shall increase,&#8221; so steady, honest earning is presented as good.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Which Bible verse talks about get-rich-quick schemes?<\/h3>\n<p>The most direct verse is Proverbs 28:22: &#8220;He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.&#8221; Proverbs 28:20 adds that &#8220;he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.&#8221; Other related verses are Proverbs 13:11, Proverbs 21:5, Proverbs 23:4-5, and 1 Timothy 6:9, which warns that &#8220;they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<h3>What does &#8220;evil eye&#8221; mean in Proverbs 28:22?<\/h3>\n<p>In Proverbs, an &#8220;evil eye&#8221; is a Hebrew idiom for a stingy, grudging person, not a curse or superstition. Proverbs 23:6 uses the same phrase for a host who begrudges the food guests eat, and Proverbs 22:9 gives the opposite, &#8220;He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.&#8221; So Proverbs 28:22 describes the person hurrying to be rich as tight-fisted. Many scholars read Jesus&#8217;s words about a &#8220;single&#8221; eye and an &#8220;evil&#8221; eye in Matthew 6:22-23 the same way, since they sit between teachings about treasure and money.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Does Proverbs 13:11 say money gained quickly won&#8217;t last?<\/h3>\n<p>The King James Version of Proverbs 13:11 reads, &#8220;Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.&#8221; Some modern translations say wealth gained &#8220;hastily&#8221; will dwindle, a reading that comes from the ancient Greek and Latin translations of Proverbs. The Hebrew text says wealth &#8220;from vanity,&#8221; and the Hebrew word for vanity literally means breath or vapor, so the verse is mainly about wealth with nothing solid behind it. The phrase &#8220;by labour&#8221; is literally &#8220;by hand,&#8221; usually understood as gathering a little at a time.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Is it a sin to want to be rich according to the Bible?<\/h3>\n<p>The Bible does not call having money a sin, and Proverbs 13:11 says the one who gathers by honest labour &#8220;shall increase.&#8221; However, the Bible warns against making riches the goal of life. Proverbs 23:4 says &#8220;Labour not to be rich,&#8221; and 1 Timothy 6:9 says &#8220;they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare.&#8221; Jesus taught in Matthew 6:21, &#8220;For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,&#8221; and in Matthew 6:24, &#8220;Ye cannot serve God and mammon,&#8221; so the concern is where a person&#8217;s heart and trust are fixed.<\/p>        <div class=\"booster-block booster-reactions-block\">\n            <div class=\"twp-reactions-icons\">\n                \n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-1\" post-id=\"115836\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/happy.svg\" alt=\"Happy\" title=\"\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">\n                        Happy        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Proverbs never condemns money. It warns what hurry does to your eye, and why wealth built on vapor thins out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[669,7698,7696],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-answers","category-finance","category-money-and-finance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115837,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115836\/revisions\/115837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}