Proverbs 23

35 verses

Chapter 23 opens the "Words of the Wise" section (22:17-24:34) and addresses specific topics with more extended treatment than the brief couplets of the first collection, beginning with counsel about eating with rulers, the deceptiveness of wealth, and the dangers of gluttony and wine. The chapter emphasizes careful discernment and self-control in eating, particularly when dining with the powerful, advising not to covet his delicacies for they are deceptive food, establishing that ambition and greed for favor often lead to moral compromise. The chapter devotes significant attention to wine and strong drink, declaring repeatedly that wine mocks the drinker and strong drink makes one reckless, and warning that one should not look at wine when it sparkles and flows smoothly for in the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder, creating a vivid portrait of addiction's deceptive progress. A moving exhortation addresses the son directly: listen to your father and do not despise your mother when she is old, establishing filial piety as a fundamental obligation. Memorable images include the fence and lamp (possibly warning against boundary-crossing and keeping one's path illuminated), and the strong man becoming stronger still through striving. Chapter 23 demonstrates that the "Words of the Wise" counsel more sustained engagement with complex temptations and vices, offering not just brief observations but extended warnings about how certain seductions operate and gradually enslave.

VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER

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