English Standard Version
Proverbs 23:5
5When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.
Proverbs 23:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
- New International Version (NIV)Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
- New Living Translation (NLT)In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.
Context of Proverbs 23:5
3Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. 4Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When 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, 7for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
Read all of Proverbs 23Proverbs 23:5 word by word
הֲתָ֤עִיף עֵינֶ֥יךָ בּ֗וֹ וְֽאֵ֫ינֶ֥נּוּ כִּ֤י עָשֹׂ֣ה יַעֲשֶׂה־לּ֣וֹ כְנָפַ֑יִם כְּ֝נֶ֗שֶׁר יָע֥וּף הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 23:5
- Psalms 119:36Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!
- Jeremiah 22:17But you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence."
- 1 John 2:16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
- Genesis 42:3So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.
- Genesis 1:2The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
- Genesis 12:8From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
- Isaiah 55:2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
- 1 Corinthians 7:29This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none,
- Proverbs 27:24for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations?
- Job 1:14and there came a messenger to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,
- Psalms 39:6Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
- Ecclesiastes 5:13There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt,
- Matthew 6:19"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
- 1 Timothy 6:17As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
- James 5:1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
Commentaries on Proverbs 23:5
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Set thine eyes - literally, as in the margin, i. e., “gaze eagerly upon;” and then we get an emphatic parallelism with the words that follow, “they fly away as an eagle toward heaven;” “certainly make themselves wings.”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 23:5
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