Proverbs 23:7
in Proverbs 23for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For as he thinketh within himself, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee.
KJV
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
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This verse in Proverbs 23
Commentary
5 notes on this verseFor as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,.... He is not the man his mouth speaks or declares him to be, but what his heart thinks; which is discovered by his looks and actions, and by which he is to be judged of, and not by his words; eat and drink, saith he to thee, but his heart is not with thee; he bids you eat and drink, but he does not desire you should, at least but very sparingly; it is only a mere compliment, not a hearty welcome.
This site's exposition
Do not eat the bread
on Proverbs 23:6-8
The "evil eye" of the King James is the stingy host, whose invitation is a performance. He says eat and drink, but "his heart is not with you." The guest who trusts the show will vomit up what he ate and waste the pleasant words he spoke in thanks.
This site's exposition
inwardly counting the cost
The stingy host says eat and drink, and his heart is counting the cost of every bite. Albert Barnes notes that the Hebrew verb occurs only here and reads it of a heart that at last shows in the man's acts. John Gill hears the invitation as a mere compliment.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Eat and drink, he will say to you, etc. He says, Learn securely and do what I teach, while he himself does not have certain faith in what he teaches, knowing he has invented from his heart what he would teach.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Thinketh - The Hebrew verb is found here only, and probably means, “as he is all along in his heart, so is he (at last) in act.”
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י׀ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כְּמוֹ־ | kemov- | as | H3644 → | |
| שָׁעַ֥ר | shaar | he calculates | H8176 → | |
| בְּנַפְשׁ֗וֹ | benafsho | in self his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| כֶּ֫ן־ | ken- | [is] so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֱכֹ֣ל | ʾekhol | eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| וּ֭שְׁתֵה | usheteh | and drink | H8354 → | 217 times |
| יֹ֣אמַר | yomar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָ֑ךְ | lakh | to you | ||
| וְ֝לִבּ֗וֹ | velibo | and heart his | H3820 → | 595 times |
| בַּל־ | bal- | not | H1077 → | 73 times |
| עִמָּֽךְ׃ | ʾimakh | [is] with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
כִּ֤י׀for
kiH3588 →4482 times
כְּמוֹ־as
kemov-H3644 →
שָׁעַ֥רhe calculates
shaarH8176 →
בְּנַפְשׁ֗וֹin self his
benafshoH5315 →754 times
כֶּ֫ן־[is] so
ken-H3651 →771 times
ה֥וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
אֱכֹ֣לeat
ʾekholH398 →810 times
וּ֭שְׁתֵהand drink
ushetehH8354 →217 times
יֹ֣אמַרhe says
yomarH559 →5305 times
לָ֑ךְto you
lakh
וְ֝לִבּ֗וֹand heart his
veliboH3820 →595 times
בַּל־not
bal-H1077 →73 times
עִמָּֽךְ׃[is] with you
ʾimakhH5973 →1050 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
Psalms 55:21His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
it leads to
- Psalms 57:4
My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
- Proverbs 5:3–4
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
- Psalms 28:3
Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
- Proverbs 26:28
A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
- Psalms 57:4
Through
Psalms 12:2They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
it leads to
- Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Jeremiah 9:8
Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
- Psalms 41:6
My visitor speaks falsehood; he gathers slander in his heart; he goes out and spreads it abroad.
- Psalms 144:8
whose mouths speak falsehood, whose right hands are deceitful.
- Romans 16:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.