Proverbs 23:20

New King James Version

Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Don’t associate with those who drink too much wineor with those who gorge themselves on meat.

Hebrew Names Version
Don't be among ones drinking too much wine, Or those who gorge themselves on meat:

King James Version
Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:

English Standard Version
Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat,

New American Standard Bible
Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

New Century Version
Don't drink too much wine or eat too much food.

Amplified Bible
Do not associate with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat,

World English Bible
Don't be among ones drinking too much wine, Or those who gorge themselves on meat:

Geneva Bible (1587)
Keepe not company with drunkards, nor with gluttons.

Legacy Standard Bible
Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine,Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

Berean Standard Bible
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.

Contemporary English Version
Don't be a heavy drinker or stuff yourself with food.

Complete Jewish Bible
Don't be one of those who guzzle wine or of those who eat meat to excess,

Darby Translation
Be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh.

Easy-to-Read Version
Don't make friends with people who drink too much wine and eat too much food.

George Lamsa Translation
Be not drunk with wine; and be not a gluttonous eater of meat:

Good News Translation
Don't associate with people who drink too much wine or stuff themselves with food.

Lexham English Bible
Do not be among drinkers of wine, among gluttonous eaters of their meat.

Literal Translation
Be not among heavy drinkers of wine, with gluttons, flesh to themselves,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Kepe no company wt wyne bebbers and ryotous eaters of flesh:

American Standard Version
Be not among winebibbers, Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:

Bible in Basic English
Do not be among those who give themselves to wine-drinking, or among those who make themselves full with meat:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Be not among winebibbers; among gluttonous eaters of flesh;

King James Version (1611)
Be not amongst wine-bibbers; amongst riotous eaters of flesh.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Kepe not company with wine bibbers, and riotous eaters of fleshe:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Be not a wine-bibber, neither continue long at feasts, and purchases of flesh:

English Revised Version
Be not among winebibbers; among gluttonous eaters of flesh:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Nyle thou be in the feestis of drinkeris, nether in the ofte etyngis of hem, that bryngen togidere fleischis to ete.

Update Bible Version
Don't be among winebibbers, Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:

Webster's Bible Translation
Be not among wine-bibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:

New English Translation
Do not spend time among drunkards, among those who eat too much meat,

New Living Translation
Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons,

New Life Bible
Do not be with those who drink too much wine or eat too much meat.

New Revised Standard
Do not be among winebibbers, or among gluttonous eaters of meat;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Do not be among them who tipple with wine, - among them who are gluttons;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:

Revised Standard Version
Be not among winebibbers, or among gluttonous eaters of meat;

Young's Literal Translation
Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones of flesh,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

Contextual Overview

¹⁹ Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way. ²⁰ Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; ²¹ For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. ²² Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old. ²³ Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. ²⁴ The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. ²⁵ Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice. ²⁶ My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways. ²⁷ For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well. ²⁸ She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

not: Proverbs 23:29-35, Proverbs 20:1, Proverbs 28:7, Proverbs 31:6, Proverbs 31:7, Isaiah 5:11, Isaiah 5:22, Isaiah 22:13, Matthew 24:49, Luke 15:13, Luke 16:19, Luke 21:34, Romans 13:13, Ephesians 5:18, 1 Peter 4:3, 1 Peter 4:4

flesh: Heb. their flesh

Reciprocal: Job 20:14 - his meat Proverbs 18:9 - that is slothful Proverbs 28:19 - but

Cross-References

Genesis 23:7
Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth.

Genesis 23:10
Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying,

Genesis 23:14
And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,

Genesis 25:9
And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite,

Genesis 50:5
"My father made me swear, saying, "Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me." Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back."'

Genesis 50:13
For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place.

2 Samuel 24:24
Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

2 Kings 21:18
So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Be not amongst winebibbers,.... Who drink to excess, otherwise wine may be drank, provided moderation is used; but it is not good to be in company with, excessive drinkers of it, lost a habit of excessive drinking should be acquired;

among riotous eaters of flesh; flesh may be lawfully eaten, but not in a riotous manner, so as to indulge to gluttony and surfeiting; nor should such persons be kept company with that do so, lest their ways should be learned and imitated.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Another continuous exhortation rather than a collection of maxims.

Proverbs 23:16

The teacher rejoices when the disciple’s heart Proverbs 23:15 receives wisdom, and yet more when his lips can utter it.

Reins - See Job 19:27 note.

Proverbs 23:17

Envy sinners - Compare in Psalms 37:1; Psalms 73:3; the feeling which looks half-longingly at the prosperity of evil doers. Some connect the verb “envy” with the second clause, “envy not sinners, but envy, emulate, the fear of the Lord.”

Proverbs 23:18

Or, For if there is an end (hereafter), thine expectations shall not be cut off. There is an implied confidence in immortality.

Proverbs 23:20

Riotous eaters of flesh - The word is the same as “glutton” in Proverbs 23:21 and Deuteronomy 21:20.

Proverbs 23:21

The three forms of evil that destroy reputation and tempt to waste are brought together.

Drowsiness - Specially the drunken sleep, heavy and confused.

Proverbs 23:26

Observe - Another reading gives, “let thine eyes delight in my ways.”

Proverbs 23:28

As for a prey - Better as in the margin.

The transgressors - Better, the treacherous,” those that attack men treacherously.

Proverbs 23:29

Woe ... sorrow - The words in the original are interjections, probably expressing distress. The sharp touch of the satirist reproduces the actual inarticulate utterances of drunkenness.

Proverbs 23:30

Mixed wine - Wine flavored with aromatic spices, that increase its stimulating properties Isaiah 5:22. There is a touch of sarcasm in “go to seek.” The word, elsewhere used of diligent search after knowledge Proverbs 25:2; Job 11:7; Psalms 139:1, is used here of the investigations of connoisseurs in wine meeting to test its qualities.

Proverbs 23:31

His color - literally, “its eye,” the clear brightness, or the beaded bubbles on which the wine drinker looks with complacency.

It moveth itself aright - The Hebrew word describes the pellucid stream flowing pleasantly from the wineskin or jug into the goblet or the throat (compare Song of Solomon 7:9), rather than a sparkling wine.

Proverbs 23:32

Adder - Said to be the Cerastes, or horned snake.

Proverbs 23:34

The passage is interesting, as showing the increased familiarity of Israelites with the experiences of sea life (compare Psalms 104:25-26; Psalms 107:23-30).

In the midst of the sea - i. e., When the ship is in the trough of the sea and the man is on the deck. The second clause varies the form of danger, the man is in the “cradle” at the top of the mast, and sleeps there, regardless of the danger.

Proverbs 23:35

The picture ends with the words of the drunkard on waking from his sleep. Unconscious of the excesses of the night, his first thought is to return to his old habit.

When shall I awake ... - Better, when I shall awake I will seek it yet again.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 23:20. Be not among winebibbers — There is much of this chapter spent in giving directions concerning eating, drinking, and entertainments in general.

First, the pupil is directed relative to the manner in which he is to conduct himself in his visits to the tables of the rich and great.

2. Relative to the covetous, and his intercourse with them. And

3. To public entertainments, where there were generally riot and debauch. The reasons, says Calmet, which induced the wise man to give these directions were,

1. The useless expense.

2. The loss of time.

3. The danger from bad company. And

4. The danger of contracting irregular habits, and of being induced to lead a voluptuous and effeminate life.