# Proverbs 23 📖: Warnings Against Wine and Envy [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Proverbs Overview]] | [[Proverbs 22]] | [[Proverbs 24]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#🛤 Life Application]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) [[#Verse 01.]] When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, [[#Verse 02.]] and put a knife to your throat if you possess a large appetite. [[#Verse 03.]] Do not crave that ruler’s delicacies, for that food is deceptive. [[#Verse 04.]] Do not wear yourself out to become rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. [[#Verse 05.]] When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves and fly off into the sky like an eagle! [[#Verse 06.]] Do not eat the food of a stingy person, do not crave his delicacies; [[#Verse 07.]] for he is like someone who has calculated the cost in his mind. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you; [[#Verse 08.]] you will vomit up the little bit you have eaten and will have wasted your pleasant words. [[#Verse 09.]] Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. [[#Verse 10.]] Do not move an ancient boundary stone or take over the fields of the fatherless, [[#Verse 11.]] for their Protector is strong; he will plead their case against you. [[#Verse 12.]] Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to the words of knowledge. [[#Verse 13.]] Do not withhold discipline from a child; even if you strike him with the rod, he will not die. [[#Verse 14.]] If you strike him with the rod, you will deliver him from death. [[#Verse 15.]] My child, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad; [[#Verse 16.]] my soul will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. [[#Verse 17.]] Do not let your heart envy sinners, but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord all the time. [[#Verse 18.]] For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. [[#Verse 19.]] Listen, my child, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right way. [[#Verse 20.]] Do not spend time among drunkards, among those who eat too much meat, [[#Verse 21.]] because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished, and drowsiness clothes them with rags. [[#Verse 22.]] Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. [[#Verse 23.]] Acquire truth and do not sell it— wisdom, and discipline, and understanding. [[#Verse 24.]] The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly; whoever fathers a wise child will have joy in him. [[#Verse 25.]] May your father and your mother have joy; may she who bore you rejoice. [[#Verse 26.]] Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes observe my ways; [[#Verse 27.]] for a prostitute is like a deep pit; a harlot is like a narrow well. [[#Verse 28.]] Indeed, she lies in wait like a robber and increases the unfaithful among men. [[#Verse 29.]] Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness of the eyes? [[#Verse 30.]] Those who linger over wine, those who go looking for mixed wine. [[#Verse 31.]] Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly. [[#Verse 32.]] Afterward it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. [[#Verse 33.]] Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will speak perverse things. [[#Verse 34.]] And you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging. [[#Verse 35.]] You will say, “They have struck me, but I am not harmed! They beat me, but I did not know it! When will I awake? I will look for another drink.” ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. ###### Verse 29. ###### Verse 30. ###### Verse 31. ###### Verse 32. ###### Verse 33. ###### Verse 34. ###### Verse 35. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts - This chapter includes parental wisdom such as “do not withhold discipline from a child” (v. 13). - Verse 17 warns against envying sinners—a frequent issue in both biblical and modern contexts. - Proverbs 23 offers vivid warnings against drunkenness using poetic and symbolic imagery (vv. 29–35). - Verse 23—“Buy the truth and do not sell it”—illustrates the value of truth over temporary gain. - This chapter includes strong advice for financial moderation and self-control around wealth and food. 1. Verses 1-3 tell a guest at a ruler's table to "put a knife to your throat," a vivid way of saying to control your appetite. 2. Verse 7, about the stingy host, is the source of the familiar KJV wording "as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." 3. The "Redeemer" of orphans in 23:11 translates the Hebrew *go'el*, the family member who defended and rescued a relative (Ruth 4:1-6). 4. Verse 10 repeats the warning about moving an ancient boundary stone from 22:28. 5. Verses 13-14 say correcting a child can rescue him from Sheol, the realm of the dead. 6. Deuteronomy 21:20 describes a rebellious son as "a glutton and a drunkard," the same pairing as 23:20-21. 7. Jesus' critics called Him "a glutton and a drunkard" (Matthew 11:19), using this same kind of language. 8. Verse 29 asks six questions: who has woe, sorrow, quarrels, complaints, needless wounds, and red eyes. 9. Wine that goes down smoothly is said to bite like a snake in the end (23:32). 10. The drunkard's last words, waking up only to look for another drink (23:35), are a striking picture of addiction. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary **Main Teaching**: Proverbs 23 warns against gluttony, drunkenness, envy, and chasing wealth. It urges discipline, self-control, and a heart that delights in wisdom, especially for children. **How It Fits in Proverbs**: This chapter reinforces wisdom’s role in shaping desires and long-term thinking. It continues the parental instruction tone, urging readers to resist short-term pleasure for lasting righteousness. **Apologetic Insight**: Proverbs 23 challenges the modern pursuit of indulgence by showing its destructive end. It supports the biblical principle that self-discipline and godly contentment are essential for a flourishing life, opposing materialism and moral relativism. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the strong Redeemer of the fatherless (23:10-11). He is also the truth worth buying and never selling (23:23), the One in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3), and the sure future hope of those who fear the Lord (23:18). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application - 📌 Do not chase wealth or overindulge—such pursuits are deceptive. - 📌 Parents should correct and instruct their children in wisdom. - 📌 Drunkenness and gluttony lead to ruin and shame. #### Today, I can apply this chapter by: - ✅ Practice self-control with food, drink, and spending today. - ✅ Avoid comparing yourself to others and focus on your own path. - ✅ Don’t chase after riches—focus on lasting, godly values instead. - ✅ Listen to wise counsel, especially from godly parents or mentors. - ✅ Take time today to correct a small bad habit before it becomes a bigger problem. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Riches can sprout wings and fly away like an eagle (23:4-5). Why is chasing wealth such an unreliable foundation for life? 2. Do not let your heart envy sinners (23:17-18). What helps you keep a long-term, eternal perspective when others seem to get ahead? 3. Verses 29-35 give a vivid picture of drunkenness. Why do you think the writer describes it in such detail? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 4-5: Do not wear yourself out to get rich, because riches can fly away like an eagle. - 📖 verses 17-18: Do not envy sinners, but stay devoted to the fear of the Lord; your hope will not be cut off. Godly living leads to lasting hope. - 📖 verse 23: Buy the truth and do not sell it, along with wisdom, instruction, and understanding. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[Hebrews 12#Verse 10.|Hebrews 12:10-11]] - God disciplines us for our good. - 🔗 [[1 Timothy 06#Verse 06.|1 Timothy 6:6-10]] - Godliness with contentment is great gain. - 🔗 [[Matthew 26#Verse 41.|Matthew 26:41]] - Watch and pray so you will not fall into temptation. - 🔗 [[Ephesians 05#Verse 18.|Ephesians 5:18]] - Do not get drunk with wine, but be filled by the Spirit. - 🔗 [[Matthew 06#Verse 19.|Matthew 6:19-21]] - Store up treasure in heaven. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 🛤 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 📂 Internal Notes