Don't Wear Yourself Out
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. Proverbs 23:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Don't be fooled into thinking that the expensive food a ruler offers you is really just about friendship or generosity—there's deception built into the whole situation.
The 'delicacies' represent something that looks generous but is actually designed to obligate you. The ruler is using abundance as a tool, and you need to see through it.
A father or wise teacher speaking to a young person
This teaches the kind of discernment that runs through all of Proverbs—learning to see what's really happening beneath the surface of social interactions. It's part of becoming truly wise rather than just naive.
Do not be deceived into thinking that a ruler's lavish hospitality is genuine generosity; such displays often mask ulterior motives and create invisible debts.
The Hebrew term for 'deceptive' (לחם עין, lechem ayin—literally 'bread of the eye') suggests food that appears nourishing but carries hidden consequences. Ancient patrons understood that elaborate meals functioned as instruments of social control, creating obligation and dependency in guests who might feel compelled to reciprocate favors.
The sage-father, drawing from experiential observation of court dynamics and social hierarchies that would have been vivid to his audience of young men seeking advancement.
This warning resonates with the broader scriptural suspicion of unchecked patronage systems, prefiguring later New Testament teaching about the dangers of serving two masters and the fundamental incompatibility between ultimate loyalty to God and dependent devotion to human power.
1When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
2and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
3Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
Read all of Proverbs 23 — Do not wear yourself out to get rich. Have the wisdom to show restraint. Riches sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.
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