New International Version
Proverbs 23:5
5Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
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.
- 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.
- 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 crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. 4Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. 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. 6Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; 7for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “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 119:36Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
- Jeremiah 22:17“But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.”
- 1 John 2:16For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
- Genesis 42:3Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
- Genesis 1:2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
- Genesis 12:8From there he went on toward the hills 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 called on the name of the Lord.
- Isaiah 55:2Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.
- 1 Corinthians 7:29What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not;
- Proverbs 27:24for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.
- Job 1:14a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,
- Psalms 39:6“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.
- Ecclesiastes 5:13I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
- Matthew 6:19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- 1 Timothy 6:17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
- James 5:1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is 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
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
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