Bible Strands
Proverbs 13:25
A righteous man eats to his heart’s content, but the stomach of the wicked is empty.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The author of Proverbs addresses a general audience of wisdom seekers, placing the verse immediately after a teaching on parental discipline. The statement functions as a standalone observation on the daily material conditions of two opposing moral types.
The words — The Hebrew צַדִּיק (tza.Dik) identifies a morally upright person, while תֶּחְסָר (tech.Sar) literally means "lacking" or "empty." These terms establish the concrete contrast between fullness and deprivation.
The thread — The pattern of righteous provision versus wicked deprivation recurs in Proverbs 10:3 and Psalms 34:10. Hebrews 13:5 shifts the focus to the believer's contentment and God's promise of presence rather than material sustenance.
Why it lands — The text declares that moral alignment correlates with daily physical sufficiency, while wickedness results in deprivation. It demands a reader to recognize practical consequences without treating the statement as an absolute guarantee for every individual circumstance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.
Cross-references
- Psalms 34:10 Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
- Proverbs 10:3 The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the craving of the wicked.
- Hebrews 13:5 Keep 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.”
- 1 Timothy 4:8 For 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.
- Deuteronomy 32:24 They will be wasted from hunger and ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague; I will send the fangs of wild beasts against them, with the venom of vipers that slither in the dust.
- Proverbs 6:11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.
- Deuteronomy 28:48 you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
- Psalms 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- Psalms 37:16 Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
- Psalms 37:18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will last forever.