Proverbs 23:5
wilt thou set thine eyes upon it, it is gone; for indeed it maketh itself wings and it flieth away as an eagle towards the heavens.
Darby Translation
In The King James Version
In Context
4Weary not thyself to become rich; cease from thine own intelligence:
6Eat thou not the food of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties.
Cross References
Job 1:14And there came a messenger to Job and said, The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them;
Psalms 39:6Verily, man walketh in a vain show; verily they are disquieted in vain; he heapeth up [riches], and knoweth not who shall gather them.
Proverbs 27:24for wealth is not for ever; and doth the crown [endure] from generation to generation?
Ecclesiastes 5:13There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt;
Isaiah 55:2Wherefore do ye spend money for [that which is] not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye [that which is] good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Jeremiah 39:12Take him, and keep an eye upon him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 23:5-6
4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. 5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. As some are given to appetite ( v. 2 ) so others to covetousness, and those Solomon here takes to task. Men cheat themselves as much by setting their hearts on money (though it seems most substantial) as by setting them on dainties. Observe, I. How he dissuades the covetous man from toiling and tormenting himself ( v. 4 ). "Do… Read the whole commentary →