Proverbs 28:20 Meaning and Explanation
“A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Speed is the part of this proverb that surprises. Wealth itself receives no condemnation here, and neither does ambition. What draws the warning is haste, the willingness to compress years of honest labor into a shortcut. Anyone who has watched a promising scheme collapse, or felt the pull of one, will recognize what the verse is guarding against.
Steady faithfulness gathers blessing over a lifetime, while the man who rushes toward wealth will find himself entangled in guilt. The proverb weighs two ways of relating to money by their long results.
The Context of Proverbs 28:20
Proverbs 28 sits inside the collection that Proverbs 25:1 identifies as sayings of Solomon copied out by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah. The chapter concentrates on public life: rulers who oppress, lands troubled by transgression, usury and unjust gain, the poor who walk uprightly, and those who turn an ear away from the law. Verse 19 has just praised the man who tills his land and eats plenty of bread. Verse 22 returns to the same subject, describing the hasty man as one with an evil eye who fails to see poverty coming. Verse 20 stands between them as the central statement.
What Does Proverbs 28:20 Mean?
'A faithful man' renders a phrase built on the root behind amen, describing someone dependable, whose word and work hold steady over time. 'Shall abound with blessings' uses a verb of overflowing, and the plural suggests blessings arriving from many directions across many years. The second line changes the tempo. 'Maketh haste to be rich' pictures a man hurrying, pressing, unwilling to let wealth come at the pace honest work allows. The verdict on him is stated with restraint: he 'shall not be innocent.' The proverb leaves the particular offense unnamed, which lets the warning cover cut corners, broken promises, and quiet exploitation alike.
Chapter 28 keeps circling money and power. Verse 8 describes a man increasing his substance by usury, only to gather it for someone who will pity the poor. Verse 6 prefers the upright poor man to the perverse rich one. Verse 22 makes the hasty man blind to the poverty ahead of him. Placed among these, verse 20 reads as a summary of the chapter's economics. The wider Scripture agrees. The law protected gleanings, forbade moving landmarks, and required honest weights, all of which slow acquisition down for the sake of neighbors. Faithfulness in Israel was measured over seasons, harvests, and generations.
Jesus took up the word faithful and made it the verdict on a whole life. In His parable of the talents the master greets the servant who traded steadily with, Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things. The reward there follows long, unglamorous stewardship. Paul echoes the second half of the proverb when he warns Timothy that those who will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and that the love of money pierces people through with many sorrows. Christ Himself lived without hurry toward wealth, and He calls those who follow Him into the same unhurried trust.
Proverbs 28:20 in the Original Language
emunot (אֱמוּנוֹת), 'faithful' -- literally faithfulnesses, a plural of the noun for steadiness and reliability. The phrase describes a man of proven trustworthiness, the quality shown in many acts over time. The root also stands behind the familiar word amen.
Bible Verses Related to Proverbs 28:20
“He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.”
- Proverbs 28:22
“Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.”
- Proverbs 13:11
“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.”
- 1 Timothy 6:9
“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
- Matthew 25:21
Where Proverbs 28:20 Echoes in Scripture
1 Timothy 6:9 carries this proverb into the early church almost unchanged. Paul writes that those who will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts that drown men in destruction. The verse before it commends contentment with food and raiment. Read together with Proverbs 28:20, the passage shows how durable this diagnosis is. The hurry itself does the damage, long before any particular sin is committed, by reordering what a person is willing to trade away.
How to Apply Proverbs 28:20 Today
Most of us feel this proverb in small decisions. A deadline tempts us to overstate a result. A tight month makes an unwise loan look reasonable. A rising market invites money we cannot afford to lose. One useful question is whether a plan requires anyone else to be uninformed in order to work. Another is whether we could explain it plainly to someone we respect. Faithfulness usually looks unremarkable from the outside: showing up, finishing the job, paying what we owe on the day we said. Those blessings accumulate quietly, and they hold.
Reflection & Prayer
Where are we currently in a hurry, and what would change if we gave that matter twice the time? A prayer: Father, You have never been in a rush, and Your gifts arrive in their season. Slow our hearts where speed has become a substitute for trust. Make us people whose word can be relied upon in small things, and let whatever we gain be clean in Your sight. Amen.