Bible Strands
Proverbs 23:3
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wisdom teacher addresses a student dining with a powerful host, immediately following a warning against gluttony in the preceding verse.
The words — The Hebrew תִּ֭תְאָיו (tit.'o) literally means "you crave," while כְּזָבִֽים (ke.za.Vim) translates to "lies" or deceptive things.
The thread — The warning against craving a host's food reappears in Proverbs 23:6 regarding a stingy man, and Luke 21:34 warns against hearts weighed down by dissipation.
Why it lands — The text commands readers to reject the desire for luxurious meals because such indulgence brings deception rather than lasting benefit.
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
Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 23:6 Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
- Psalms 141:4 Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil thing or take part in works of wickedness with men who do iniquity; let me not feast on their delicacies.
- Luke 21:34 But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- Daniel 1:8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.
- Ephesians 4:22 to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;