English Standard Version
Proverbs 23:4
4Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!
- New Living Translation (NLT)Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit.
Context of Proverbs 23:4
2and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. 3Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. 5When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. 6Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies,
Read all of Proverbs 23Proverbs 23:4 word by word
אַל־תִּיגַ֥ע לְֽהַעֲשִׁ֑יר מִֽבִּינָתְךָ֥ חֲדָֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 23:4
- Proverbs 28:20A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
- John 6:27Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal."
- 1 Timothy 6:8But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
- Proverbs 3:5Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
- Proverbs 26:12Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- Isaiah 5:21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
- Romans 11:25Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
- Romans 12:16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries