Bible Strands
Proverbs 20:17
Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man, but later his mouth is full of gravel.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author of Proverbs addresses a general audience pursuing practical wisdom, placing this warning between instructions on financial collateral and the necessity of consultation. The moment corresponds to everyday economic decisions where quick gain tempts ethical compromise.
The words — The Hebrew עָרֵב ('aRev) means "sweet" or "pleasant," describing the immediate appeal of food obtained through שָׁקֶר (shaQer), "falsehood." The consequence is captured by יִמָּלֵא (yimmale), "it will be filled," combined with חָצָץ (chaTzaTz), "gravel," indicating a literal choking aftermath.
The thread — The pattern of deceptive sweetness turning to ruin recurs in Proverbs 9:17, which calls stolen water and secret bread tasty, and in Job 20:12, which describes evil remaining sweet in the mouth before judgment arrives. Scripture consistently pairs hidden gain with hidden decay.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that illicit profit delivers immediate pleasure before producing tangible ruin. It demands a deliberate choice to abandon deceptive shortcuts in favor of transparent, sustainable labor.
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
Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
- Proverbs 9:17 “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is tasty!”
- Job 20:12 Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,
- Lamentations 3:15 He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
- Hebrews 11:25 He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin.
- Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
- Proverbs 4:17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.