Proverbs 30:22

Proverbs 30:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;
• New International Version (NIV)a servant who becomes king, a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
• English Standard Version (ESV)a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food;
• New King James Version (NKJV)For a servant when he reigns, A fool when he is filled with food,

Context of Proverbs 30:22

20A woman who is not faithful to her husband does this: When she has sex with another man, she thinks it is like a meal that she has eaten. Then she washes herself and she says, ‘I have not done anything wrong.’ That is something else that I cannot understand. 21There are three things that make the earth shake, even four things: A slave who becomes a king. A fool who eats too much. 23A woman that nobody loves who marries a husband. A female servant who takes the place of the woman that she has served. 24There are four things that live on the earth which are very small, but they are also very wise:

Proverbs 30:22 word by word

תַּֽחַת־עֶ֭בֶד כִּ֣י יִמְל֑וֹךְ וְ֝נָבָ֗ל כִּ֣י יִֽשְׂבַּֽע־לָֽחֶם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For a servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• when he reignethמָלַךְmâlak · to reignH4427
• and a foolנָבָלnâbâl · foolishH5036
• when he is filledשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
• with meatלֶ֫חֶםlechem · foodH3899

Cross-references for Proverbs 30:22

• Proverbs 19:10Fools should not live like rich people. Even worse, slaves should never have authority over rulers.
• Proverbs 28:3A poor person who is cruel to helpless people is like a storm that destroys crops.
• Ecclesiastes 10:7Slaves ride on horses, as important people do. At the same time, princes have to walk, as slaves do.
• Isaiah 3:4The Lord says, ‘I will cause boys to become their leaders who will rule them badly.
• 1 Samuel 30:16So the Egyptian man took David to find the Amalekites. The men were sitting everywhere, all over the ground. They were having a party, eating and drinking. They were happy because they had taken so many things from the towns of the Philistines and from the people in Judah.

Commentaries on Proverbs 30:22

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-23Verses 21-23 Four sorts of persons are very troublesome. Men of low origin and base spirit, who, getting authority, become tyrants. Foolish and violent men indulging in excesses. A woman of a contentious spirit and vicious habits. A servant who has obtained undue influence. Let those whom Providence has advanced from low beginnings, carefully watch against that sin which most easily besets them.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-23This proverb lists four things that make the earth tremble because they disrupt the natural order. who is filled with food: In the ancient Near East, as in many non-industrialized parts of the world today, having enough food was a sign of prosperity.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 21-2321-23. Pride and cruelty, the undue exaltation of those unfit to hold power, produce those vices which disquiet society (compare Pr 19:10; 28:3).Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 30:22

• Gluttony
• Riddle
• Rulers
• Servant
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Agur
• Convenient
• Folk
• Food
• Massa
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Zoology

Commentaries on Proverbs 30

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings