Proverbs 23:5 warns you not to fix your gaze on wealth, because riches can disappear as quickly as a bird flying out of sight. The verse uses the picture of money growing wings and flying off, which is a sharp way of saying that wealth is unstable and unreliable as a source of security. It is a proverb attributed to Solomon, the wisdom king, and it is addressed to a reader who is tempted to chase riches and treat them as the foundation of life.
Why do you set your eyes on that which is not? For it certainly sprouts wings like an eagle and flies in the sky.
Proverbs 23:5 (WEB)
What Proverbs 23:5 Means
The verse opens with a question: why do you set your eyes on something that is not really there to hold? The Hebrew idea is of looking intently at something, fixing your attention on it. The “that which is not” points to wealth that is not solid or permanent, the kind of riches that seems substantial until it suddenly is not. The writer is not condemning hard work or the ordinary goal of providing for a family. He is cautioning against making money the object of your deepest desire.
The second half of the verse uses a vivid image. Wealth “sprouts wings like an eagle” and flies away into the sky. An eagle is strong, swift and impossible to catch once it leaves the ground. The comparison makes the point that riches can leave with surprising speed, through a market crash, a bad investment, a theft or simply the passing of time. The proverb is describing how wealth behaves, not promising that you will lose everything.
What the verse does not say is equally important. It does not forbid owning property, saving money or enjoying God’s provision. Elsewhere Proverbs praises diligence and prudence. The warning is about where your eyes rest and what you trust. A wise person can have resources while refusing to let them become the thing that defines security, identity or worth.
The Context of Proverbs 23:5
The book of Proverbs is a collection of short sayings meant to train young people in wisdom, meaning skillful and godly living in everyday choices. Much of it is traditionally attributed to Solomon, and the chapters around this verse deal with self-control at the dinner table, honesty in business and the danger of greed. Scholars differ on the exact stages of the book’s compilation, but its purpose throughout is practical instruction for the whole of life.
Verses 2 through 8 describe a host who offers a fine meal while secretly grudging every bite. The guest is warned not to crave his delicacies or be taken in by his stingy generosity. Verse 4 tells the reader not to wear yourself out chasing riches, and verse 5 explains why: the wealth you pursue may vanish. Read this way, the verse is not a general lecture on money but a specific warning against envy and grasping ambition, the kind that leads you into bad company and bad choices.
Key Phrases in Proverbs 23:5
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(WEB)
Jesus makes the same contrast between temporary treasure on earth and lasting treasure stored in heaven. Where your treasure is, he says, your heart will be also. The passage gives Proverbs 23:5 its New Testament direction, moving the question from wealth itself to the heart that pursues it.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
17 Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be haughty, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy; 18 that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to share; 19 laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life.
(WEB)
Paul warns the rich not to put their hope in uncertain riches but in God, who richly provides everything for our enjoyment. The passage echoes the proverb’s warning about trusting wealth and adds a practical call to generosity and good works as a healthier use of what you have.
A Short Prayer From Proverbs 23:5
Lord, you know how easily my eyes drift toward money, comfort and the security I imagine it will give me. Show me where my attention has settled and gently turn it back toward you. Help me work honestly and provide well for those I love, without letting wealth become the thing I trust most. Give me a generous heart and a steady peace that does not rise and fall with my bank balance. Thank you that my life rests on your faithfulness, which does not fly away. Amen.
