Proverbs 23:1
in Proverbs 23When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Consider diligently him that is before thee;
KJV
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
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This verse in Proverbs 23
Commentary
12 notes on this verseDivine Scripture commands that, when we have been invited to a rich man's banquet, we should with understanding put forth our hand to the dishes. And so for us too the banquet of Scriptures has been set out as a rich man's feast. We have come into a meadow; it has very many flowers: here the rose is red, there the lilies gleam white, there are flowers of every kind. Our soul is drawn this way and that, to gather from wherever it may the more beautiful flowers.
This site's exposition
When you sit down to dine
on Proverbs 23:1-3
The chapter opens at a ruler's table. The guest must "consider carefully what is set before you, and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite." The delicacies are deceptive because a great man's food can be bait for a favor he means to extract.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
It is certainly a great table where the lord of the table is himself the banquet. Nobody feeds his guests on himself, yet that is what the Lord Christ did, being himself the host, himself the food and drink. So the martyrs recognized what they ate and drank, so that they could give back the same kind of thing.
What therefore is "the table of the powerful one," except the mind of that one who says, "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me"; and "when I am weak, then I am strong"? On this "clean table of the powerful one," that is, in his heart, in his mind is offered "a loaf" to the Lord. At the table of this powerful apostle, if you sit to eat, "understand intelligently what is set before you," that is, perceive spiritually what is said by him.
The divine Scripture should be understood in an intellectual and spiritual sense, because the knowledge of sense perception, literally understood, is not the truth.
A commentator
John ChrysostomCOMMENTARY ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON, FRAGMENT 23:1 · Written before 407.
proposed
"If you sit at the dinner table of a prince, understand with prudence what is set before you." Christ is anticipated here as the prince. His table and food are the words of his doctrine and his eternal goods which he has prepared for those who love him. Each Christian sits at his dinner table. The one who understands with prudence what Jesus has taught with his works and words extends his hand, which means that with his works he begins to show that he is an imitator of Christ, made humble, a peaceful lover of all and patient in tribulations. The one who does not do this but instead gazes with eagerness at the pleasures of the world must give up any desire for eternal goods which at any rate he will never own. The pleasures of the world are characteristic of a false life, and those who love them will never enjoy eternal possessions.
What is "the table of a powerful man" except that one from which is taken the body and blood of him who has laid down his life for us? And what is to sit at it except to approach humbly? And what is to consider and understand the things that are set before you except to reflect worthily upon so great a grace?
5 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
You are approaching the table of a potentate. You, the faithful, know what table you are approaching.… What regal table are you approaching? One who sets himself before you, not a table spread by the skill of cooks. Christ sets his table before you, namely, himself. Approach this table, and take your fill. Be poor, and you will have your fill.
The Medieval Church1 voice
When you sit down to eat with a ruler, etc. All things are said through allegory: When you sit down to read with a teacher, to be refreshed by the bread of the word, diligently understand what is written, and maintain the discernment of sacred …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler,.... Either a supreme ruler, a king, or a subordinate ruler, a nobleman, a judge, a civil magistrate, a person of honour, dignity, and authority; and to sit at table with such is sometimes allowed, and is always reckoned an honour; this particularly diligent and industrious persons are admitted to, who not only are brought to stand before kings and great persons, but to sit at table with them, and eat food with them.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
What is before thee - Beware lest dainties tempt thee to excess. Or, “consider diligently who is before thee,” the character and temper of the ruler who invites thee.
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler - When invited to the table of thy betters, eat moderately. Do not appear as if half starved at home. Eat not of delicacies to which thou art not accustomed; they are deceitful meat; they please, but they do not profit. They are pleasant to the sight, the taste, and the smell; but they are injurious to health. These are prudential cautions; and should be carefully observed by all who would avoid the conduct of a clown, and desire to pass for a well-bred man.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תֵ֭שֵׁב | teshev | you will sit down | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| לִלְח֣וֹם | lilchom | to eat | H3898 → | 177 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| מוֹשֵׁ֑ל | moshel | a ruler | H4910 → | 81 times |
| בִּ֥ין | bin | carefully <consider> | H995 → | 170 times |
| תָּ֝בִ֗ין | tavin | you will consider | H995 → | 170 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לְפָנֶֽיךָ׃ | lefaneikha | [is] <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תֵ֭שֵׁבyou will sit down
teshevH3427 →1079 times
לִלְח֣וֹםto eat
lilchomH3898 →177 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
מוֹשֵׁ֑לa ruler
moshelH4910 →81 times
בִּ֥יןcarefully <consider>
binH995 →170 times
תָּ֝בִ֗יןyou will consider
tavinH995 →170 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁ֥ר[that] which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לְפָנֶֽיךָ׃[is] <to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Jude 1:12These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after…
it leads to
- Matthew 15:13
But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.
- 2 Peter 2:17–20
These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.
- Ezekiel 34:8
‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My…
- Ephesians 4:14
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.
- Proverbs 25:14
Like clouds and wind without rain is the man who boasts of gifts never given.
- Matthew 15:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 329:1; Augustine of Hippo, TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 84:2; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 332:2; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Evagrius Ponticus, SCHOLIA ON PROVERBS 251:23.1; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 11 (PSALM 77); John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON, FRAGMENT 23:1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 13:4.6.