Proverbs Challenge – Chapter 23

Listen to Your Father

23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you;
And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man given to appetite.
Do not desire his delicacies,
For they are deceptive food.

Do not overwork to be rich;
Because of your own understanding, cease!
[a]Will 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[b] miser,
Nor desire his delicacies;
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,
And waste your pleasant words.

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

10 Do not remove the ancient [c]landmark,
Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;
11 For their Redeemer is mighty;
He will plead their cause against you.

12 Apply your heart to instruction,
And your ears to words of knowledge.

13 Do not withhold correction from a child,
For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
14 You shall beat him with a rod,
And deliver his soul from [d]hell.

15 My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;
16 Yes, my [e]inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak right things.

17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day;
18 For surely there is a [f]hereafter,
And your hope will not be cut off.

19 Hear, my son, and be wise;
And guide your heart in the way.
20 Do not mix with winebibbers,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

22 Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.

23 Buy the truth, and do not sell it,
Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
25 Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her who bore you rejoice.

26 My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep pit,
And a seductress is a narrow well.
28 She also lies in wait as for a victim,
And increases the unfaithful among men.

29 Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
30 Those who linger long at the wine,
Those who go in search of mixed wine.
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it [g]swirls around smoothly;
32 At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.
34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the [h]midst of the sea,
Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
35 “They have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:5 Lit. Will you cause your eyes to fly upon it and it is not?
  2. Proverbs 23:6 Lit. one who has an evil eye
  3. Proverbs 23:10 boundary
  4. Proverbs 23:14 Or Sheol
  5. Proverbs 23:16 Lit. kidneys
  6. Proverbs 23:18 Future, lit. latter end
  7. Proverbs 23:31 goes around
  8. Proverbs 23:34 Lit. heart

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This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. Odogun Oluwaseun Morrison

    It easy to understand in this chapter that Children are wise to listen to the wise teaching of their parents and to thank them for what they have invested in their lives. The best investment is to learn truth and to hold tightly to it no matter what happens, knowing that the Word of the Lord endures forever even in a constantly changing world. Parents should want their children to have hearts that are eager to learn about the Lord, and this brings great joy to them. Their teaching should be modeled for their children by how they live so that their children can delight not only in what they say but in what they do. A life that is consistent in word and deed and in truth and grace has a way of capturing a child’s attention and allowing Christ to capture his heart.

    1. ADEOSUN OLUGBEMI OLAGOKE

      Proverb 23 opens with pleading that we should be careful in our relationship with people especially Leaders,vs 4 and 5 tell us not place hope on riches and not to ever believe in it,bcos there is no lasting hope in it.
      In verse 10 a command not to change the legacy of our parents and not to cheat the fatherless and the result of that with God in vs11.
      Vs 13 and 14 talks about correcting ones child for him or her to live.
      Vs 15 to 17 if we are wise ,we glading the heart of God.
      Vs18 because an end is sure to everything that has a beginning,there is hope for us.
      Vs19 to 21 talks about being wise and not to allow gluttony to finish one with their close relative POVERTY
      VS 23 talks about buy truth and selling not,while the remaining verses talks about avoiding whore,furnication,adultery the guilt and shame with damage that may come from thence.

  2. Merayebu Joy Omowunmi

    Proverbs 23 tells us to be obedient and follow our fathers instructions and to follow the path of wisdom and also to yield to corrections

  3. Imion Angela Ofure

    Verses 1-3 tells us to exercise restraint when confronted with the luxuries of a wealthy ruler who seeks to lure us into his schemes and intrigues. Daniel is the classic illustration of one who lived by this proverb, refusing the allurements of the pagan monarch, which he knew could corrupt him. This has to do with the kings food and wine so he asked the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself and asked to be able to eat vegetables and drink water.
    Verses 4-5: Tells us to labour for purpose than labour to be rich because it is much more rewarding. First of all, you may never be rich; but if you are, it is fleeting in nature. Usually a person who gains great riches and has never been rich before cannot hold onto it, and it is soon gone. The same chances that you took to get rich, you will still be taking to get richer; because one is never satisfied; and to get more, you endanger what you have. For sure when we die, we leave our earthly possessions behind. We came into this world naked, and we shall not take possessions with us when we leave. Riches are uncertain, Godliness is forever.
    Rather than wearing one’s self out pursuing wealth, pursue the wisdom of God and what glorifies Him, and He will bless with prosperity as He chooses.

    In Verses 6-7, we see that a man with greed may invite you to eat with him, but he begrudges every bite you eat. He really has some motive for inviting you to eat that he hasn’t told you about. This is the greedy one who, to be rich, hoards his riches, withholding from the poor and needy to keep and increase his own wealth. This man is full of jealousy and even spite. He really cannot bear the sight of other’s happiness and joy.
    In Verse 8, He (the man in the previous verse) invites someone to enjoy his courtesies, feigning generosity, while really being sickeningly hypocritical, as his real god is to take advantage in some way so as to increase his wealth at his guest’s expense. This is just saying in the company of this man; this food is no good. Food eaten under begrudging eyes never tastes good. Good fellowship is what makes food good. You will really wish you hadn’t eaten it, and long to get rid of it to get this bitter taste out of your mouth. When you get this feeling at someone’s table, it is hard to find nice things to say.

    Verse 9 tells us that we are wasting our time and his, to speak to a fool. This is true because fools hate wisdom. We have learnt in lessons before this one that a fool is not interested in learning anything. He will think you are just trying to act smart, and instead of appreciating you’re talking to him, it will make him angry.

    Verse 10, We learnt in Prov. 15:25 about evil men who try and take the property of widows.
    This is saying beware of trying to defraud someone, who cannot help himself, out of his land or property. God Himself will take up his cause and fight for him. You would be trying to defraud God. God will not hold him guiltless who tries to defraud the helpless.

    Verse 11: In a normal situation, the near kinsman would rescue the one who had fallen upon hard times or avenge in the case of a murder. “Redeemer” is applied to God as the Savior of His people since the helpless had no voice.
    Shalom!!!!

  4. Adefuwa Adedokunola E.

    Here is a warning to exercise restraint when confronted with the luxuries of a wealthy ruler who seeks to lure you into his schemes and intrigues. Daniel is the classic illustration of one who lived by this proverb, refusing the allurements of the pagan monarch, which he knew could corrupt him. (See Daniel 1:8). This has to do with the kings food and wine so he asked the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself and asked to be able to eat vegetables and drink water. Further we see in this chapter that a man with greed may invite you to eat with him, but he begrudges every bite you eat. He really has some motive for inviting you to eat that he hasn’t told you about.
    This is the greedy one who, to be rich, hoards his riches, withholding from the poor and needy to keep and increase his own wealth.
    This man is full of jealousy and even spite. He really cannot bear the sight of other’s happiness and joy.
    The drunkard’s lack of sense is so severe that his first waking thought is to repeat his debauchery and dangerous sin.
    The last six verses of this chapter are talking about people who drink too much.
    Alcoholism, drunkenness, and drugs are a real problem today. The hangover from alcohol is like the serpent’s bite the next day. The drunk cannot remember the terrible things he did under the influence of alcohol.
    One of the worst things now is driving while drunk. When the driver of a car is under the influence of drugs and alcohol, the car becomes a deadly weapon.
    Drugs can cause a hangover that lasts for literally years. Drug flashbacks can be devastating.
    We see above that even though the person who was drunk was beaten severely, he wasn’t even aware of it at the time, because he was unconscious and didn’t notice. That part of his life is a blank. He can’t remember. He doesn’t even know who he was with, so he doesn’t know who beat him. This should surely convince you to leave drugs and alcohol alone.

  5. Odedairo Oladele Omotayo

    Proverb 23 is made up of 35 verses. It can be summarised as follows:
    • We should restrain our appetite—don’t pig out if we are dining with the king, and we don’t desire the delicacies the wealthy can afford to eat. The things we desire disappear as soon as we get them.

    • Again, we should not remove ancient landmarks that our ancestors put down—and make sure we take care of orphans, too.
    • Like the previous set of sayings, this set gets way into corporal punishment: we should beat our kids and they’ll be better people. They won’t die.
    • As long as we do what’s right, the sayings promise, we should have a future.

    • We should avoid people who love drinking wine and we should not associate with gluttonous eaters of meat.
    • Buy truth for ourself, says the book, but don’t sell it to others—keep it close.
    • In line with earlier observations, proverb 23 says we should continue to obey our parents and avoid adulteresses and prostitutes.

    • The chapter ends with a passage poetically condemning heavy wine drinking. It leads to woe, strife, “

  6. Imion immaculate osereme

    The idea presented in verses 6-8 is that the ruler has a selfish agenda that he is trying to sway a person into giving into. He wants to buy the person off and use him for his purposes and agenda. Taking of his delicacies, benefits, gifts, and even bribes could cloud a person’s ability to make good decisions and more prone to join forces with a bad person. The pressure to cede a just position in the presence of power, prestige, and possessions can be strong, but a person must not desire anything the ruler can offer. He must focus on the truth of the situation, and this will keep him from being deceived.
    It is not a good spiritual and eternal investment to become consumed by making money or by the desire to get rich. The command here is to stop thinking about money all the time, for that is idolatry. It is impossible to love God and money at the same time (Matthew 6:24). Wealth cannot even deliver upon what it promises, for it can easily be lost or stolen. It certainly cannot buy salvation or go into the afterlife (Matthew 6:20). Its value is purely temporary, and it ought to be used to help others rather than for spurious selfish gain.

  7. Akinsehinwa Queen

    This chapter is telling us to be careful with the kind of people we mingle with, what we eat or drink, the company we keep. Some people feed you not because they are happy with you but because of their hidden agenda for you.
    Everybody is trying to be rich and that’s why we all work but by work shall no man prevail is what the bible records so just do your part and leave the rest for God.
    The fact that you are to take a break doesn’t mean we should overdo it, lets be mindful of our pleasure life.Avoid the company of the fool, strive hard to know and seek wisdom.

  8. Prophetess Deborah Oreofe David

    Day 23. Proverb 23. You should restrain your appetite – don’t pig out if you are dining with the king,and don’t desire the delicacies the wealthy can afford to eat. The things you don’t desire appear as soon you get them. Again, don’t remove ancient landmarks your ancestors put down and make sure you take care of orphans too. I like the previous set of sayings,this set gets way into corporal punishment: beat your kids and they will be better people. They won’t die and go to Sheol, the under world. As long as you do what’s right,the sayings promise, you will have a future.
    Drink Responsibly
    Avoid people who love drinking wine and don’t associate with gluttonous eaters of meat. Buy truth for yourself says the the book,but don’t sell it to others,keep it close. On line with earlier observations, the book to continue to obey your parents and avoid adulteresses and prostitutes. This chapter ends with a passage poetically condemning heavy wine drinking. It leads to woe,strife,redness of eyes,and making you babble on about strange and perverse topics,in the end,you will just feel like you want to keep drinking to drown your sorrow

  9. Prophetess Deborah Oreofe David

    Day 24. Proverb 24:1-30
    Don’t desire the sorts if things wicked people want and have says proverb, also,in case you have not realize it yet,wisdom is really great,it can help you build up a nice household and win wars.
    The author praises courage and willingness to rescue people who are being sent to the slaughter saying God will repay you if you fail to live up to these responsibilities.
    Wisdom is like honey,they are both really good and sweet and you should eat them.
    No matter how many times they run into obstacles and fall down,the righteous get back up,but the wicked will eventually be struck down in one dell swoop.
    You should not rejoice when your enemies fall,because then,God will take it easy on them.
    Keep obeying God- oh,and the king too and everything will work out at the end.
    You should judge impartially and always give honest answers,don’t be a witness against your neighbours for no good reason and don’t vengefully try to repay people for wrongs they have done to you.
    This author states that he was walking by a vineyard owned by a lazy,stupid person, he sees that it us all broken down and overgrown and he realizes that it is what a little laziness leads to: poverty and ruin.

  10. Akinbobola Esther

    This verse is giving us vision on how to be wise when dealing with an elder
    We must learn to discipline our children because of their tomorrow
    God rejoice with us when we learn to speak the truth with our lip
    We must not sell the truth we had known

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