English Standard Version
Proverbs 23:6
6Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies,
Proverbs 23:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
- New International Version (NIV)Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies;
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies;
- New Living Translation (NLT)Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies.
Context of Proverbs 23:6
4Do 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. Do 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. 8You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words.
Read all of Proverbs 23Proverbs 23:6 word by word
אַל־תִּלְחַ֗ם אֶת־לֶ֭חֶם רַ֣ע עָ֑יִן וְאַל־תִּ֝תְאָ֗יו לְמַטְעַמֹּתָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 23:6
- Proverbs 22:9Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
- Deuteronomy 15:9Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, 'The seventh year, the year of release is near,' and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin.
- Deuteronomy 28:56The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she embraces, to her son and to her daughter,
- Matthew 20:15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'
- Mark 7:22coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
- Proverbs 23:3Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.
- Psalms 141:4Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!
- Daniel 1:8But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
Commentaries on Proverbs 23:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Of him that hath an evil eye - Never eat with a covetous or stingy man; if he entertains you at his own expense, he grudges every morsel you put in your mouth. This is well marked by the wise man in the next verse: "Eat and drink, saith he: but his heart is not with thee."Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6A different danger from that of Proverbs 23:1. The hazard here is the hospitality of the purse-proud rich, avaricious or grudging even in his banquets. Evil eye - Not with the later associations of a mysterious power for mischief, but simply, as in the margin ref. and in Matthew 20:15.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-8Verses 6-8 Do not make thyself burdensome to any, especially those not sincere. When we are called by God to his feast, and to let our souls delight themselves, Is 25:6; 55:2, we may safely partake of the Bread of life.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-8Proverbs highly values generosity (Proverbs 11:24–26; 21:13; 22:9).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-86-8. Beware of deceitful men, whose courtesies even you will repent of having accepted. evil eye--or purpose (Pr 22:9; De 15:9; Mt 6:23).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 23:6
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