New International Version
Proverbs 23:6
6Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave 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:
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire 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 wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. 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. Do 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. 8You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.
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 22:9The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
- Deuteronomy 15:9Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.
- Deuteronomy 28:56The most gentle and sensitive woman among you—so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter
- Matthew 20:15Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
- Mark 7:22adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.
- Proverbs 23:3Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
- Psalms 141:4Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies.
- Daniel 1:8But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
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
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