Proverbs 21:17
in Proverbs 21He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
KJV
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
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This verse in Proverbs 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Wine and oil - i. e., The costly adjuncts of a princely banquet. The price of oil or precious unguent was about equal to the 300 days’ wages of a field laborer Mat 20:2. Indulgence in such a luxury would thus become the type of all extravagance and excess.
This site's exposition
He who loves pleasure will become poor
on Proverbs 21:17-18
"The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the faithless for the upright," a line that reads oddly against ordinary justice. It reads as providence, the wicked man's schemes working out in the course of events to the advantage of the righteous he meant to harm.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He that loveth pleasure - That follows gaming, fowling, hunting, coursing, etc., when he should be attending to the culture of the fields, shall be a poor man; and, I may safely add, shall be so deservedly poor, as to have none to pity him.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
shall be a poor man He who loves the joy of always banqueting.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
A man who strays from the way of understanding From the Torah.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | [will be] a person of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מַ֭חְסוֹר | machsor | poverty | H4270 → | 13 times |
| אֹהֵ֣ב | ʾohev | [one who] loves | H157 → | 211 times |
| שִׂמְחָ֑ה | simchah | pleasure | H8057 → | 94 times |
| אֹהֵ֥ב | ʾohev | [one who] loves | H157 → | 211 times |
| יַֽיִן־ | yayin- | wine | H3196 → | 141 times |
| וָ֝שֶׁ֗מֶן | vashemen | and oil | H8081 → | 193 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַעֲשִֽׁיר׃ | yaashir | he will gain riches | H6238 → | 17 times |
אִ֣ישׁ[will be] a person of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מַ֭חְסוֹרpoverty
machsorH4270 →13 times
אֹהֵ֣ב[one who] loves
ʾohevH157 →211 times
שִׂמְחָ֑הpleasure
simchahH8057 →94 times
אֹהֵ֥ב[one who] loves
ʾohevH157 →211 times
יַֽיִן־wine
yayin-H3196 →141 times
וָ֝שֶׁ֗מֶןand oil
vashemenH8081 →193 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יַעֲשִֽׁיר׃he will gain riches
yaashirH6238 →17 times
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
Proverbs 21:20Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man consumes them.
it leads to
- Matthew 25:3–4
The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil.
- Ecclesiastes 5:19
Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.
- Psalms 112:3
Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
- Matthew 25:3–4
Through
1 Timothy 5:6But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still alive.
it leads to
- James 5:5
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.
- Revelation 3:1
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of the One who holds the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a…
- Revelation 18:7
As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow…
- Luke 15:24
For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
- James 5:5
Through
Proverbs 23:21For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
it leads to
- Philippians 3:19
Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
- Philippians 3:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.