New King James Version
Proverbs 4:17
17For they 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.
- New International Version (NIV)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 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 away from it and pass on. 16For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence. 18But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. 19The way of the wicked is like 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, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
- Proverbs 20:17Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
- Job 24:5Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, They go out to their work, searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
- Psalms 14:4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call on the Lord?
- Jeremiah 5:26‘For among My people are found wicked men; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men.
- Ezekiel 22:25The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
- Amos 8:4Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, And make the poor of the land fail,
- Micah 3:5Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets Who make my people stray; Who chant “Peace” While they chew with their teeth, But who prepare war against him Who puts nothing into their mouths:
- Micah 6:12For her rich men are full of violence, Her inhabitants have spoken lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
- Zephaniah 3:3Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves That leave not a bone till morning.
- Matthew 23:14Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
- James 5:4Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries