New International Version
Proverbs 4:17
17They 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For 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 travel on it; turn from it and go on your way. 16For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble. They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. 18The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. 19But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them 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; food eaten in secret is delicious!”
- Proverbs 20:17Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.
- Job 24:5Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labor of foraging food; the wasteland provides food for their children.
- Psalms 14:4Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord.
- Jeremiah 5:26“Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch people.
- Ezekiel 22:25There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her.
- Amos 8:4Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land,
- Micah 3:5This is what the Lord says: “As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim ‘peace’ if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them.
- Micah 6:12Your rich people are violent; your inhabitants are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully.
- Zephaniah 3:3Her officials within her are roaring lions; her rulers are evening wolves, who leave nothing for the morning.
- James 5:4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
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
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