Proverbs 23:4

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!

Context of Proverbs 23:4

2And put a knife to your throat If you are a man of great appetite. 3Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food. Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. 5When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. 6Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;

Proverbs 23:4 word by word

אַל־תִּיגַ֥ע לְֽהַעֲשִׁ֑יר מִֽבִּינָתְךָ֥ חֲדָֽל׃Read the interlinear

• Do not wearyיָגֵעַyâga‛ · be weary/toilH3021
• yourself to gainעָשַׁר‛âshar · to enrichH6238
• Ceaseחָדַלchâdal · to ceaseH2308
• considerationבִּינָהbîynâh · understandingH998

Cross-references for Proverbs 23:4

• Proverbs 28:20A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.
• John 6:27Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
• 1 Timothy 6:8If we have food and covering, with these we shall 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 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 clever in their own sight!
• Romans 11:25For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
• Romans 12:16Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

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

• Conceit
• Confidence
• Covetousness
• False Confidence
• Riches

In the dictionaries

• Clothe
• Correction
• Dainty
• Desirous
• Drunkard
• Poverty
• Riotous
• Sell
• Wine
• Face

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