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Thursday, July 31st, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Bible in Basic English

Proverbs 23:6

Do not take the food of him who has an evil eye, or have any desire for his delicate meat:

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Company;   Guest;   Hospitality;   Hypocrisy;   Thompson Chain Reference - Association-Separation;   Associations;   Blindness-Vision;   Evil;   Eye, Evil;   Social Duties;   Temperance;   Temperance-Intemperance;   The Topic Concordance - Consideration;   Desire;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Eye;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Heart;   Pardon;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Evil Eye;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Eye (2);   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Dainties;   Meat;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Dainties;   Evil Eye;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - AḥiḴar;   Bread;   Eye;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread,and don’t desire his choice food,
Hebrew Names Version
Don't eat the food of him who has a stingy eye, And don't crave his delicacies:
King James Version
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
English Standard Version
Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies,
New American Standard Bible
Do not eat the bread of a selfish person; Or desire his delicacies;
New Century Version
Don't eat the food of selfish people; don't be greedy for their fine foods.
Amplified Bible
Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;
World English Bible
Don't eat the food of him who has a stingy eye, And don't crave his delicacies:
Geneva Bible (1587)
Eate thou not the bread of him that hath an euil eye, neither desire his deintie meates.
Legacy Standard Bible
Do not eat the bread of a selfish man,And do not desire his delicacies;
Berean Standard Bible
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
Contemporary English Version

-8-

Don't accept an invitation to eat a selfish person's food, no matter how good it is.
Complete Jewish Bible
Don't eat the food of a stingy man; don't be greedy for his delicacies.
Darby Translation
Eat thou not the food of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties.
Easy-to-Read Version
Don't eat with selfish people. Control any desire you have for their finest foods.
George Lamsa Translation
Do not eat with a hypocrite, neither desire his food;
Good News Translation

-8-

Don't eat at the table of a stingy person or be greedy for the fine food he serves.
Lexham English Bible
Do not eat the bread of the stingy, and do not desire his delicacies.
Literal Translation
Do not eat the bread of one having an evil eye, and do not desire his delicacies,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Eate not thou wt ye envyous, and desyre no his meate,
American Standard Version
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, Neither desire thou his dainties:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties;
King James Version (1611)
Eate thou not the bread of him that hath an euill eye, neither desire thou his dainty meates.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Eate thou not the bread of hym that hath an euyll eye: neither desire thou his daintie meate.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Sup not with an envious man, neither desire thou his meats:
English Revised Version
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties:
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Ete thou not with an enuyouse man, and desire thou not hise metis;
Update Bible Version
Don't eat the bread of him that has an evil eye, Neither desire his dainties:
Webster's Bible Translation
Eat thou not the bread of [him that hath] an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties:
New English Translation
Do not eat the food of a stingy person, do not crave his delicacies;
New King James Version
Do not eat the bread of a miser, [fn] Nor desire his delicacies;
New Living Translation
Don't eat with people who are stingy; don't desire their delicacies.
New Life Bible
Do not eat the bread of a man who thinks only about himself. Do not have a desire for his fine food.
New Revised Standard
Do not eat the bread of the stingy; do not desire their delicacies;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Do not eat the food of him that hath a begrudging eye, neither crave thou his dainties;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
Revised Standard Version
Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies;
Young's Literal Translation
Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to his dainties,
THE MESSAGE
8 Don't accept a meal from a tightwad; don't expect anything special. He'll be as stingy with you as he is with himself; he'll say, "Eat! Drink!" but won't mean a word of it. His miserly serving will turn your stomach when you realize the meal's a sham.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;

Contextual Overview

6 Do not take the food of him who has an evil eye, or have any desire for his delicate meat: 7 For as the thoughts of his heart are, so is he: Take food and drink, he says to you; but his heart is not with you. 8 The food which you have taken will come up again, and your pleasing words will be wasted.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

an: Proverbs 22:9, Deuteronomy 15:9, Deuteronomy 28:56, Matthew 20:15, Mark 7:22

desire: Proverbs 23:3, Psalms 141:4, Daniel 1:8-10

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 28:54 - his eye Proverbs 28:22 - an evil Isaiah 32:5 - nor Daniel 11:27 - shall be to 2 Corinthians 9:7 - not

Cross-References

Genesis 13:2
Now Abram had great wealth of cattle and silver and gold.
Genesis 14:14
And Abram, hearing that his brother's son had been made a prisoner, took a band of his trained men, three hundred and eighteen of them, sons of his house, and went after them as far as Dan.
Genesis 18:12
And Sarah, laughing to herself, said, Now that I am used up am I still to have pleasure, my husband himself being old?
Genesis 21:22
Now at that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, said to Abraham, I see that God is with you in all you do.
Genesis 23:1
Now the years of Sarah's life were a hundred and twenty-seven.
Genesis 23:2
And Sarah's death took place in Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan: and Abraham went into his house, weeping and sorrowing for Sarah.
Genesis 23:4
I am living among you as one from a strange country: give me some land here as my property, so that I may put my dead to rest.
Genesis 23:5
And in answer the children of Heth said to Abraham,
Genesis 24:18
And she said, Take a drink, my lord: and quickly letting down her vessel onto her hand, she gave him a drink.
Genesis 24:35
The Lord has given my master every blessing, and he has become great: he has given him flocks and herds and silver and gold, and men-servants and women-servants and camels and asses.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Eat thou not the bread of [him that hath] an evil eye,.... A sordid covetous man, that grudges every bit that is eaten, in opposition to a man of a good eye, or a bountiful one, that is liberal and generous, Proverbs 22:9; if he invites to a meal, do not accept of it, sit not down at his table to eat with him:

neither desire thou his dainty meats; or savoury food, so as to lust after it; Proverbs 22:9- :.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A different danger from that of Proverbs 23:1. The hazard here is the hospitality of the purse-proud rich, avaricious or grudging even in his banquets.

Evil eye - Not with the later associations of a mysterious power for mischief, but simply, as in the margin ref. and in Matthew 20:15.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 23:6. Of him that hath an evil eye — Never eat with a covetous or stingy man; if he entertains you at his own expense, he grudges every morsel you put in your mouth. This is well marked by the wise man in the next verse: "Eat and drink, saith he: but his heart is not with thee."


 
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