Proverbs 23:5

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.
• 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.

Context of Proverbs 23:5

3Do not crave that ruler’s delicacies, for that food is deceptive. 4Do not wear yourself out to become rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves, and fly off into the sky like an eagle! 6Do not eat the food of a stingy person, do not crave his delicacies; 7for he is like someone calculating the cost in his mind. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you;

Proverbs 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.

• Wilt thou setעוּף‛ûph · to flyH5774
• thine eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• certainlyעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• themselves wingsכָּנָףkânâph · wingH3671
• as an eagleנֶשֶׁרnesher · eagleH5404
• toward heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064

Cross-references for Proverbs 23:5

• Psalms 119:36Give me a desire for your rules, rather than for wealth gained unjustly.
• Jeremiah 22:17But you are always thinking and looking for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means. Your eyes and your heart are set on killing some innocent person and committing fraud and oppression.
• 1 John 2:16because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world.
• Genesis 42:3So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
• Genesis 1:2Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water.
• Genesis 12:8Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord.
• Isaiah 55:2Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing! Enjoy fine food!
• 1 Corinthians 7:29And I say this, brothers and sisters: The time is short. So then those who have wives should be as those who have none,
• Proverbs 27:24for riches do not last forever, nor does a crown last from generation to generation.
• Job 1:14and a messenger came to Job, saying, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing beside them,
• Psalms 39:6Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”
• Ecclesiastes 5:13Here is a misfortune on earth that I have seen: Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery.
• Matthew 6:19“Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
• 1 Timothy 6:17Command those who are rich in this world’s goods not to be haughty or to set their hope on riches, which are uncertain, but on God who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment.
• James 5:1Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming on 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

• Covetousness
• Riches

In the dictionaries

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

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