1
When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
consider carefully what is before you.
2
Put a knife to your throat,
if you are given to appetite!
3
Do not desire his delicacies,
for it is deceptive food.
4
Do not wear yourself out to gain wealth;
cease from your own understanding of this.
5
When you set your eyes on it, it is gone,
for it surely makes itself wings;
like an eagle it flies toward the heavens.
6
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man,
do not desire his delicacies.
7
For as he thinks within himself, so he is.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8
The morsel you have eaten you will vomit up,
and you will waste your pleasant words.
9
Do not speak in the ears of a fool,
for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10
Do not move the ancient boundary stone,
and do not enter the field of the fatherless.
11
For their Redeemer is strong;
he will plead their case against you.
12
Apply your heart to instruction,
and your ears to words of knowledge.
13
Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
14
You shall strike him with the rod,
and you will save his soul from Sheol.
15
My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will rejoice.
16
My inmost being will be glad,
when your lips speak what is right.
17
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but fear the LORD always.
18
For surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
19
Hear, my son, and be wise,
and direct your heart in the way.
20
Do not be among those who drink wine
or among those who gorge themselves on meat.
21
For the drunkard and the glutton come to poverty,
and drowsiness clothes a person with rags.
22
Listen to your father who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23
Buy truth, and do not sell it;
likewise wisdom, discipline, and understanding.
24
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice;
he who fathers wise children will be glad because of him.
25
Let your father and your mother be glad;
let her who bore you rejoice.
26
My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27
For a prostitute is a deep pit,
and a foreign woman is a narrow well.
28
Indeed, she lies in wait like a robber,
and increases the faithless among men.
29
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
30
That is, those who sit over wine late into the night,
those who come to taste mixed wine.
31
Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it gives its color in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly,
32
but afterward it bites like a serpent,
and stings like a viper.
33
Then your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart will speak confused words.
34
You will be like one lying in the midst of the sea,
like one on top of a ship’s mast.
35
You will say, “They struck me, but I did not feel it.
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When shall I awake?
I will seek wine again.”
🍽️🍷📖 Summary of Proverbs 23 – Self-Control, Wisdom for Life, and the Danger of Greed
Proverbs 23 is a call to live with self-control, not being tempted by wealth, lust, or revelry. This chapter also contains practical counsel about raising children, the importance of a heart that fears the Lord, and the danger of being caught in a lifestyle that prizes momentary pleasure but destroys the future.
📌 1. Control Appetite & the Pursuit of Wealth (verses 1–5)
“When you sit down to eat with a ruler… put a knife to your throat if you are a man of great appetite!”
- Do not be greedy in the presence of the rich
- Wealth can vanish like an eagle flying into the sky
🎯 Living in self-control is far more valuable than aimless feasting.
📌 2. Do Not Be Drawn to the Food of the Insincere (verses 6–8)
“Do not eat the bread of one who is envious…”
- There are those who give with their lips, but not with their hearts
- The pleasure offered may be a bait that traps
🎯 Be alert to gifts that hide evil intent.
📌 3. Train Children with Discipline (verses 13–14)
“Do not withhold discipline from a child…”
- The rod is not for harming, but for loving discipline
- Discipline saves the soul from destruction
🎯 Spiritual discipline = love that leads to eternal life.
📌 4. A Joyful Heart Because of a Wise Child (verses 15–16, 24–25)
“My child, if your heart is wise, my heart also rejoices…”
- Parents find joy in the wisdom and sincerity of their children
- True pride is not in worldly success, but in godly character
🎯 A child’s character = the fruit of parents’ upbringing and prayer.
📌 5. Do Not Envy Sinners – Focus on the Eternal Future (verses 17–18)
“Do not envy sinners, but fear the LORD always…”
- There is a future for those who are faithful
- Envy only poisons the heart, whereas the fear of the Lord produces hope.
🎯 Focus on the end of life, not on momentary pleasure.
📌 6. The Danger of Drunkenness & Sexual Desire (verses 20–21, 26–35)
“Do not be among wine drinkers and gluttons…”
- Drunkenness and feasting → a path to poverty and suffering
- Desire and alcohol cause one to lose sound judgment
- Drunkenness makes one unaware that we are being hurt and ruined
🎯 True satisfaction is not found at the bottom of a glass, but in the presence of God.
📖 Main Teaching
- Self-control in eating, drinking, and desire is a form of wisdom
- A child’s upbringing and discipline should begin early
- Do not envy sinners, because the future of the righteous is secured by the Lord
- Avoid a reckless, drunken, and aimless lifestyle
- A wise person builds life on the fear of the Lord, not on lust
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“I discipline my body and bring it under control…”
“Do not be drunk with wine, for wine gives rise to passions…”
“Indeed, every discipline at the time it is given is not pleasant…”
“Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.”
🎯 Proverbs 23 emphasizes that a disciplined spirit, a heart that fears the Lord, and a simple life are more valuable than temporary satisfaction.
🕊️ “Put a knife to your throat, if your appetite is great.” – Proverbs 23:2
🕊️ “Wealth makes itself wings and flies away to the heavens…” – Proverbs 23:5
🕊️ “Do not withhold discipline from a child…” – Proverbs 23:13
🕊️ “Do not envy sinners, but fear the LORD…” – Proverbs 23:17
🕊️ “Whoever loves wine… at last he says: strike me… but I do not feel pain.” – Proverbs 23:35
