Proverbs 23:4

Proverbs 23:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
• New International Version (NIV)Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!

Context of Proverbs 23:4

2For you will put a knife to your throat If you are a man of great appetite. 3Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food [offered to you with questionable motives]. Do not weary yourself [with the overwhelming desire] to gain wealth; Cease from your own understanding of it. 5When you set your eyes on wealth, it is [suddenly] gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies to the heavens. 6Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;

Proverbs 23:4 word by word

אַל־תִּיגַ֥ע לְֽהַעֲשִׁ֑יר מִֽבִּינָתְךָ֥ חֲדָֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Labourיָגֵעַyâga‛ · be weary/toilH3021
• not to be richעָשַׁר‛âshar · to enrichH6238
• ceaseחָדַלchâdal · to ceaseH2308
• from thine own wisdomבִּינָהbîynâh · understandingH998

Cross-references for Proverbs 23:4

• Proverbs 28:20A faithful (right-minded) man will abound with blessings, But he who hurries to be rich will not go unpunished.
• John 6:27Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures [and leads] to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you; for God the Father has authorized Him and put His seal on Him.”
• 1 Timothy 6:8But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
• Proverbs 3:5Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
• Proverbs 26:12Do you see a man [who is unteachable and] wise in his own eyes and full of self-conceit? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
• Isaiah 5:21Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever and shrewd in their own sight!
• Romans 11:25I do not want you, believers, to be unaware of this mystery [God’s previously hidden plan]—so that you will not be wise in your own opinion—that a partial hardening has [temporarily] happened to Israel [to last] until the full number of the Gentiles has come in;
• Romans 12:16Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty [conceited, self-important, exclusive], but associate with humble people [those with a realistic self-view]. Do not overestimate yourself.

Commentaries on Proverbs 23:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Labour not to be rich - Let not this be thy object. Labour to provide things honest in the sight of God and all men; and if thou get wealth, do not forget the poor, else God's curse will be a canker even in thy gold. Cease from thine own wisdom - בינתך binathecha, thy own understanding or prudence. The world says, "Get rich if thou canst, and how thou canst." Rem, si possis, recte; si non, quocunque modo rem; "Get a fortune honestly if thou canst; but if…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Cease from thine own wisdom - i. e., “Cease from the use of what is in itself most excellent, if it only serves to seek after wealth, and so ministers to evil.” There is no special contrast between “thine own wisdom” and that given from above, though it is of course implied that in ceasing from his own prudence the man is on the way to attain a higher wisdom.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-5Verses 4-5 Be not of those that will be rich. The things of this world are not happiness and a portion for a soul; those that hold them ever so fast, cannot hold them always, cannot hold them long.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5Saying 7: Wealth can be a blessing from God (Proverbs 3:9–10, 15–16; 10:22), but some things in life matter more.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-54-5. (Compare 1Ti 6:9, 10). thine own wisdom--which regards riches intrinsically as a blessing.Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 23:4

• Conceit
• Confidence
• Covetousness
• False Confidence
• Riches

In the dictionaries

• Clothe
• Correction
• Dainty
• Desirous
• Drunkard
• Poverty
• Riotous
• Sell
• Wine
• Face

Commentaries on Proverbs 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings