Proverbs 13:25
in Proverbs 13A righteous man eats to his heart’s content, but the stomach of the wicked is empty.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul; But the belly of the wicked shall want.
KJV
The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.
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This verse in Proverbs 13
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIf you take [this verse] according to the literal sense that "when the just person eats he will fill his soul but the souls of the impious will be in poverty," it will appear false. For the souls of the impious take food with eagerness and strive after "satiety," but the just meanwhile are hungry. Finally, Paul was just, and he said, "Up to this hour we are hungry, and thirsty, and naked, and we are beaten with fists." And again he says, "In hunger and thirst, in many fastings."
This site's exposition
He that spareth his rod hateth his son
on Proverbs 13:24-25
He that spareth his rod hateth his son is stated as the verse stands, without softening; the withheld rod is named hatred and the applied one, chastening betimes, is named love. The readings divide on how the proverb is carried into practice, whether it commands physical correction directly or states a principle of parental seriousness in a culture where the rod was the ordinary instrument of correction, and the bench holds both readings without settling a question the verse itself does not settle. The chapter closes on appetite answered rightly: the righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, while the wicked's belly wants regardless of how much passes through it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
We have been created, not to eat and drink but to come to the knowledge of God. "The just man," Scripture says, "eats and fills his soul; but the belly of the wicked is ever in want," ever hungry with a greed that cannot be quenched.
We must consider the food promised in the law as the food of the soul, which is to satisfy not both parts of a person's nature but the soul only. And the words of the gospel, although probably containing a deeper meaning, may yet be taken in their more simple and obvious sense, as teaching us not to be disturbed with anxieties about our food and clothing, but, while living in plainness, and desiring only what is needful, to put our trust in the providence of God.
The Medieval Church1 voice
But the righteous eats and fills his soul, etc. The righteous receive the foods of wisdom, which are found to have sprung in the fresh fields of the fathers, that is, in the works and words of preceding just men, and they transfer these to …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
To the satisfying of his soul - His desires are all moderate; he is contented with his circumstances, and is pleased with the lot which God is pleased to send. The wicked, though he use all shifts and expedients to acquire earthly good, not sticking even at rapine and wrong, is frequently in real want, and always dissatisfied with his portion. A contented mind is a continual feast. At such feasts he eats not.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צַדִּ֗יק | tzadik | a righteous [person] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| אֹ֭כֵל | ʾokhel | [is] eating | H398 → | 810 times |
| לְשֹׂ֣בַע | lesoa' | to [the] satiety of | H7648 → | |
| נַפְשׁ֑וֹ | nafsho | appetite his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וּבֶ֖טֶן | uveten | and [the] belly of | H990 → | 72 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֣ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| תֶּחְסָֽר׃ פ | techsar | it is lacking | H2637 → |
צַדִּ֗יקa righteous [person]
tzadikH6662 →206 times
אֹ֭כֵל[is] eating
ʾokhelH398 →810 times
לְשֹׂ֣בַעto [the] satiety of
lesoa'H7648 →
נַפְשׁ֑וֹappetite his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
וּבֶ֖טֶןand [the] belly of
uvetenH990 →72 times
רְשָׁעִ֣יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
תֶּחְסָֽר׃ פit is lacking
techsarH2637 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 13:5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
- Joshua 1:5
No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
- Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- 1 Samuel 12:22
Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.
- Isaiah 41:17
The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Deuteronomy 31:8
Through
Psalms 34:10Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
it leads to
- Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- Matthew 6:32
For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
- Psalms 84:11
Through
1 Timothy 4:8For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.
it leads to
- Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Matthew 6:33
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 16:5.4 and Origen of Alexandria, AGAINST CELSUS 7:24.