23:1-3The point of this proverb is to be careful when eating with an important or influential person because he or she may try to influence or bribe you. Unwary meetings over meals can lead to undermined convictions. No good will come from such meals.
Life Application Study BibleProverbsChapter 23
Proverbs 23
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1043, 1044, 1045
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23Proverbs 23
1pay attention to what is put before you.
2If you are a big eater,put a knife to your throat;3 don’t desire all the delicacies,for he might be trying to trick you.
4Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.Be wise enough to know when to quit.
5In the blink of an eye wealth disappears,for it will sprout wingsand fly away like an eagle.
6Don’t eat with people who are stingy;don’t desire their delicacies.
7They are always thinking about how much it costs.*“Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it.
8You will throw up what little you've eaten,and your compliments will be wasted.
9Don’t waste your breath on fools,for they will despise the wisest advice.
10Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers;don’t take the land of defenseless orphans.
11For their Redeemer* is strong;he himself wit] bring their charges against you.
12Commit yourself to instruction;listen carefully to words of knowledge.
13Don’t fail to discipline your children.They won't die if you spank them.
14Physical disciplinemay well save them from death.*
15My child,* if your heart is wise,my own heart will rejoice!
16Everything in me will celebratewhen you speak what is right.
17Don’t envy sinners,but always continue to fear the LORD.
18You will be rewarded for this;your hope will not be disappointed.
19My child, listen and be wise:Keep your heart on the right course.
20Do not carouse with drunkardsor feast with gluttons,21 for they are on their way to poverty,and too much sleep clothes them in rags.
22Listen to your father, who gave you life,and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
23Get the truth and never sell it;also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment.
24The father of godly children has cause for joy.What a pleasure to have children who are wise.*
25So give your father and mother joy!May she who gave you birth be happy.
26O my son, give me your heart.May your eyes take delight in following my ways.
27A prostitute is a dangerous trap;a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.
28She hides and waits like a robber,eager to make more men unfaithful.
29Who has anguish? Who has sorrow?Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining?Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns,trying out new drinks.
31Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is,how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down.
32For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake;it stings like a viper.
33You will see hallucinations,and you will say crazy things.
34You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea,clinging to a swaying mast.
35And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it.I didn’t even know it when they beat me up.When will I wake upso I can look for another drink?”2 4 1Don’t envy evil people
Textual footnotes
- 23:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 23:11 Or redeemer.
- 23:14 Hebrew from Sheol.
- 23:15 Hebrew My son; also in 23:19.
- 23:24 Hebrew to have a wise
Life Application Notes 9 notes
23:4,5We have all heard of people who have won millions of dollars and then lost everything. Even the average person can spend an inheritance—or a paycheck—with lightning speed and have little to show for it. Don’t spend your time chasing fleeting earthly treasures. Instead, store up treasures in heaven, for Such treasures will never be lost. (See Luke 12:33, 34 for Jesus’ teaching.)
23:6-8In graphic language, the writer warns us not to envy the life-styles of those who have become rich by being stingy and miserly, and not to gain their favor by fawning over them. Their “friendship” is phony—they will just use you for their own gain.
23:10,11The word redeemer referred to someone who bought back a family member who had fallen into slavery or who accepted the obligation to marry the widow of a family member (Ruth 4:3-10). God is also called a Redeemer (Exodus 6:6; Job 19:25). (For an explanation of ancient boundary markers, see the note on 22:28.)
23:12The people most likely to gain knowledge are those who are willing to listen. It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to pay attention to what others have to say. Peopte who are eager to listen continue to learn and grow throughout their lives. If we refuse to become set in our ways, we can always expand the limits of our knowledge.
23:13,14The stern tone of discipline here is offset by the affection expressed in verse 15. However, many parents are reluctant to discipline their children at all. Some fear that they will forfeit their relationship, their children will resent them, or they will stifle their children’s development. But correction won't kill children, and it may prevent them from foolish moves that will.
23:17,18How easy itis to envy those who get ahead, unhampered by responsibility to God’s laws. For a time they do seem to prosper without paying any attention to what God wants, but they have no future. To those who follow him, God promises a hope and a wonderful future, even if they don’t achieve it in this life.
23:29,30The soothing comfort of alcohol is only temporary. Real relief comes from dealing with the cause of the anguish and sorrow and turning to God for peace. Don’t lose yourself in alcohol: find yourself in God.
23:29-35{srael was a wine-producing country. In the Old Testament, winepresses bursting with new wine were considered a sign of blessing (3:10). Wisdom is even said to have set her table with wine (9:2, 5). But the Old Testament writers were alert to the dangers of wine. It dulls the senses; it limits clear judgment (31:1-9); it lowers the capacity for control (4:17); it destroys a person's efficiency (21:17). To make wine an end in itself, a means of self-indulgence, or as an escape from jife is to misuse it and invite the consequences of the drunkard.
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‘also in 24:21,
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