Old Testament Commentary - Proverbs 23

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 23 Labor not to be rich—As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he—Withhold not correction from a child—Be not among winebibbers.
1 WHEN thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: 2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to ^aappetite. 3 Be not desirous of his ^adainties: for they are deceitful meat.		2^a TG Word of Wisdom 3^a OR delicacies
4 Labour not to be ^arich: cease from thine own ^bwisdom. 5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. 6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7 For as he ^athinketh in his ^bheart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.		4^a Jacob 2:19 (18-19); TG Treasure ^b 2 Ne. 9:28 (28, 42) 7^a TG Motivations ^b TG Heart
8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. 9 Speak not in the ears of a ^afool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. 10 Remove not the old ^alandmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: 11 For their redeemer is mighty; he shall ^aplead their cause with thee.		9^a Prov. 24:7; Matt. 7:6; Matt. 15:26-28; D&C 6:12 (10-12); D&C 10:37 (36-37) 10^a Prov. 22:28 11^a Prov. 22:23
12 Apply thine heart unto ^ainstruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. 13 Withhold not ^acorrection from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.		12^a D&C 88:118-122 13^a TG Chastening; TG Family, Children, Responsibility Toward
15 My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. 16 Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. 17 Let not thine heart envy ^asinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.		17^a Prov. 24:1, 19
18 For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off. 19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. 20 Be not among ^awinebibbers; among ^briotous eaters of flesh: 21 For the ^adrunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.		20^a HEB imbibers of wine ^b OR gluttonous eaters of meat; TG Rioting and Reveling 21^a TG Temperance; TG Word of Wisdom
22 ^aHearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. 23 Buy the ^atruth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. 24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.		22^a TG Family, Children, Duties of 23^a TG Truth
25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice. 26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes ^aobserve my ways. 27 For a ^awhore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.		26^a TG Watchfulness 27^a D&C 42:23-24
28 She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men. 29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath ^acontentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at the ^awine; they that go to seek mixed wine.		29^a TG Contention 30^a TG Temperence
31 Look not thou upon the ^awine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an ^aadder.		31^a TG Drunkenness 32^a IE a kind of poisonous snake
33 Thine eyes shall behold ^astrange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. 34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. 35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.^a	35^a I will seek it yet again. This is the greatest problem with 'habitual sin'. It just does not go away so easily. It reminds one of the smoker who states, 'I can quite smoking any time I want. In fact I've done it a thousand times. Habitual sin will go through the steps of repentance, having the remorse, regret and determination to repent and stop. But the habit is entrenched and engrained and easily fallen back into when one's guard falls again because it is a 'life style' behavior that when one gets near unto it again, the old desire kicks in and habit takes over without much thought and the snare is tripped and one has fallen in again.	31^a OR foreign women