Bible Strands
Proverbs 24:13
Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The author addresses his son regarding practical instruction, placing this brief physical analogy between a warning about God's knowledge of human deeds in 24:12 and a direct claim about wisdom in 24:14.
The words — The text commands the son to eat honey (דְבַשׁ, de.Vash) because it is good (ט֑וֹב, Tov), explicitly noting the honeycomb (נֹ֥פֶת, No.fet) is sweet to the taste.
The thread — This imagery of honey appears in Proverbs 25:16 with a warning against excess, while Isaiah 7:15 and Song of Solomon 5:1 employ it to denote ordinary sustenance and delight.
Why it lands — The passage presents a concrete analogy to prepare the reader for the immediate comparison that wisdom is sweet to the soul. It asks the reader to acknowledge the tangible goodness of physical nourishment as a basis for valuing spiritual instruction.
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
My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
Cross-references
- Isaiah 7:15 By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.
- Song of Solomon 5:1 I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink freely, O beloved.
- Proverbs 25:16 If you find honey, eat just what you need, lest you have too much and vomit it up.
- Psalms 119:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth!
- Song of Solomon 4:11 Your lips, my bride, drip sweetness like the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the aroma of Lebanon.
- Matthew 3:4 John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
- Psalms 19:10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
- Proverbs 25:27 It is not good to eat too much honey or to search out one’s own glory.