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Tuesday, July 15th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Young's Literal Translation

Proverbs 21:17

Whoso [is] loving mirth [is] a poor man, Whoso is loving wine and oil maketh no wealth.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Amusements and Worldly Pleasures;   Drunkenness;   Extravagance;   Food;   Frugality;   Oil;   Pleasure;   Wine;   Worldliness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Drink, Strong;   Food;   Food, Physical-Spiritual;   Intemperance;   Pleasure, Worldly;   Pleasure-Seekers;   Poverty;   Poverty-Riches;   Self-Indulgence-Self-Denial;   Social Duties;   Temperance;   Temperance-Intemperance;   Victuals;   Wine;   Worldly;   The Topic Concordance - Pleasure;   Poverty;   Wealth;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Amusements and Pleasures, Worldly;   Diet of the Jews, the;   Drunkenness;   Oil;  

Dictionaries:

- Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Oil;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Drunkenness;   Education;   Oil;   Poetry, Hebrew;   Poor;   Wisdom;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The one who loves pleasure will become poor;whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.
Hebrew Names Version
He who loves pleasure shall be a poor man: He who loves wine and oil shall not be rich.
King James Version
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
English Standard Version
Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
New American Standard Bible
One who loves pleasure will become a poor person; One who loves wine and oil will not become rich.
New Century Version
Whoever loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and perfume will never be rich.
Amplified Bible
He who loves [only selfish] pleasure will become a poor man; He who loves and is devoted to wine and [olive] oil will not become rich.
World English Bible
He who loves pleasure shall be a poor man: He who loves wine and oil shall not be rich.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Hee that loueth pastime, shalbe a poore man: and he that loueth wine and oyle, shall not be riche.
Legacy Standard Bible
He who loves pleasure will become a poor man;He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.
Berean Standard Bible
He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never become rich.
Contemporary English Version
Heavy drinkers and others who live only for pleasure will lose all they have.
Complete Jewish Bible
Pleasure-lovers will suffer want; he who loves wine and oil won't get rich.
Darby Translation
He that loveth mirth shall be a poor man; he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
Easy-to-Read Version
Loving pleasure leads to poverty. Wine and luxury will never make you wealthy.
George Lamsa Translation
He who lacks wealth and yet loves entertainment, wine, and pleasure shall not be rich.
Good News Translation
Indulging in luxuries, wine, and rich food will never make you wealthy.
Lexham English Bible
A man of want is he who loves pleasure; he who loves wine and oil will not become rich.
Literal Translation
A man who loves pleasure shall be poor, he who loves wine and oil shall not be rich.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He yt hath pleasure in banckettes, shal be a poore man: Who so delyteth in wyne and delicates, shal not be riche.
American Standard Version
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
Bible in Basic English
The lover of pleasure will be a poor man: the lover of wine and oil will not get wealth.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man; he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
King James Version (1611)
He that loueth pleasure, shall be a poore man: hee that loueth wine and oyle, shall not be rich.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
He that hath pleasure in bankettes shalbe a poore man: and whoso delighteth in wyne and delicates, shall not be riche.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
A poor man loves mirth, loving wine and oil in abundance;
English Revised Version
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He that loueth metis, schal be in nedynesse; he that loueth wiyn and fatte thingis, schal not be maad riche.
Update Bible Version
He that loves pleasure shall be a poor man: He that loves wine and oil shall not be rich.
Webster's Bible Translation
He that loveth pleasure [shall be] a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
New English Translation
The one who loves pleasure will be a poor person; whoever loves wine and anointing oil will not be rich.
New King James Version
He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
New Living Translation
Those who love pleasure become poor; those who love wine and luxury will never be rich.
New Life Bible
He who loves only fun will become a poor man. He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.
New Revised Standard
Whoever loves pleasure will suffer want; whoever loves wine and oil will not be rich.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A needy man, shall he be that loveth merriment, the lover of wine and oil, shall not become rich.
Douay-Rheims Bible
He that loveth good cheer, shall be in want: he that loveth wine, and fat things, shall not be rich.
Revised Standard Version
He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
THE MESSAGE
You're addicted to thrills? What an empty life! The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

Contextual Overview

17 Whoso [is] loving mirth [is] a poor man, Whoso is loving wine and oil maketh no wealth.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

loveth: Proverbs 21:20, Proverbs 5:10, Proverbs 5:11, Proverbs 23:21, Luke 15:13-16, Luke 16:24, Luke 16:25, 1 Timothy 5:6, 2 Timothy 3:4

pleasure: Heb. sport

Reciprocal: Proverbs 29:3 - he

Cross-References

Genesis 15:1
After these things hath the word of Jehovah been unto Abram in a vision, saying, `Fear not, Abram, I [am] a shield to thee, thy reward [is] exceeding great.'
Genesis 16:9
And the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, `Turn back unto thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hands;'
Genesis 16:11
and the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, `Behold thou [art] conceiving, and bearing a son, and hast called his name Ishmael, for Jehovah hath hearkened unto thine affliction;
Genesis 21:1
And Jehovah hath looked after Sarah as He hath said, and Jehovah doth to Sarah as He hath spoken;
Genesis 21:2
and Sarah conceiveth, and beareth a son to Abraham, to his old age, at the appointed time that God hath spoken of with him;
Genesis 21:4
and Abraham circumciseth Isaac his son, [being] a son of eight days, as God hath commanded him.
Genesis 21:6
and Sarah saith, `God hath made laughter for me; every one who is hearing laugheth for me.'
Genesis 21:13
As to the son of the handmaid also, for a nation I set him, because he [is] thy seed.'
Genesis 21:14
And Abraham riseth early in the morning, and taketh bread, and a bottle of water, and giveth unto Hagar (placing [it] on her shoulder), also the lad, and sendeth her out; and she goeth on, and goeth astray in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba;
Genesis 46:3
And He saith, `I [am] God, God of thy father, be not afraid of going down to Egypt, for for a great nation I set thee there;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He that loveth pleasure [shall be] a poor man,.... Or "sport" c and pastime, music and dancing, cards and dice, hunting and hawking, and other sensual gratifications; a man that indulges himself in these things, and spends his time and his money in such a way, is very likely to be a poor man, and generally is so in the issue;

he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich; that is, that loves them immoderately; otherwise in moderation they may be both loved and used; "wine" and "oil" are put for high living, luxurious feasts, costly entertainments; which being so, and continually made, will not suffer a man to be rich. The sense is, that an epicure, one that makes a god of his belly, that is both a winebibber and a glutton, that indulges to rich eating and drinking, in course lessens his substance, and leaves little for his heir: and this holds good with respect to spiritual as to temporal things; such persons are poor, and not rich in spiritual things, that indulge to carnal pleasure, and the gratification of their sensual appetite.

c שמחה "laetitiam", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Cocceius, Schultens.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Wine and oil - i. e., The costly adjuncts of a princely banquet. The price of oil or precious unguent was about equal to the 300 days’ wages of a field laborer Matthew 20:2. Indulgence in such a luxury would thus become the type of all extravagance and excess.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 21:17. He that loveth pleasure — That follows gaming, fowling, hunting, coursing, c., when he should be attending to the culture of the fields, shall be a poor man and, I may safely add, shall be so deservedly poor, as to have none to pity him.


 
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