Proverbs 18:11 (WEB)

Passage

The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, like an unscalable wall in his own imagination.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 18:9 One who is slack in his work is brother to him who is a master of destruction.

Proverbs 18:10 Yahweh’s name is a strong tower: the righteous run to him, and are safe.

Proverbs 18:11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, like an unscalable wall in his own imagination.

Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is proud, but before honor is humility.

Proverbs 18:13 He who gives answer before he hears, that is folly and shame to him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "rich", "wealth", "strong", "city", "like", "unscalable", "wall", and "imagination". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "rich" and "wealth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Yahweh s name is a strong tower..." into verse 12's "Before destruction the heart of man is...", so "rich" and "wealth" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "rich" and "wealth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.