New King James Version
Proverbs 23:6
6Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire 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:
- New International Version (NIV)Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies;
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not 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 overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! 5Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven. Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies; 7For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. 8The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words.
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 22:9He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor.
- Deuteronomy 15:9Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you.
- Deuteronomy 28:56The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter,
- Matthew 20:15Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’
- Mark 7:22thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.
- Proverbs 23:3Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food.
- Psalms 141:4Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
- Daniel 1:8But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries