English Standard Version
Proverbs 4:17
17For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
Proverbs 4:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
- New International Version (NIV)They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.
- New Living Translation (NLT)They eat the food of wickedness and drink the wine of violence!
Context of Proverbs 4:17
15Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. 16For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. 18But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 19The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
Read all of Proverbs 4Proverbs 4:17 word by word
כִּ֣י לָ֭חֲמוּ לֶ֣חֶם רֶ֑שַׁע וְיֵ֖ין חֲמָסִ֣ים יִשְׁתּֽוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 4:17
- Proverbs 9:17"Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant."
- Proverbs 20:17Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.
- Job 24:5Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert the poor go out to their toil, seeking game; the wasteland yields food for their children.
- Psalms 14:4Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord?
- Jeremiah 5:26For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men.
- Ezekiel 22:25The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
- Amos 8:4Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end,
- Micah 3:5Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry "Peace" when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths.
- Micah 6:12Your rich men are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
- Zephaniah 3:3Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning.
- James 5:4Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
Commentaries on Proverbs 4:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17For they eat the bread of wickedness - By privately stealing. And drink the wine of violence - By highway robbery.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4-20Verses 4-20 The counsel which has come to him, in substance, from his father. Compare it with 2 Samuel 23:2 etc.; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Chronicles 29:17; Psalm 15:1-5; Psalm 24:1-10; Proverbs 4:7 Or, “The beginning of wisdom is - get wisdom.” To seek is to find, to desire is to obtain. Proverbs 4:12 The ever-recurring parable of the journey of life. In the way of wisdom the path is clear and open, obstacles disappear; in the quickest activity (“when thou…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-27Verses 14-27 The way of evil men may seem pleasant, and the nearest way to compass some end; but it is an evil way, and will end ill; if thou love thy God and thy soul, avoid it. It is not said, Keep at a due distance, but at a great distance; never think you can get far enough from it. The way of the righteous is light; Christ is their Way, and he is the Light. The saints will not be perfect till they reach heaven, but there they shall shine as the sun…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17To eat wickedness and drink violence means these traits are central to someone's life. Just as we eat and drink to live, evil people sustain themselves by doing evil acts.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-1716-17. The reason is found in the character of sinners, whose zeal to do evil is forcibly depicted (Pr 6:4; Psa 36:5). They live by flagrant vices (Pr 1:13). Some prefer to render, "Their bread is wickedness, their drink violence" (compare Job 15:16; 34:7).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 4:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 4
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries