Proverbs 23:5
If thou shouldest fix thine eye upon him, he will disappear; for wings like an eagle's are prepared for him, and he returns to the house of his master.
Brenton Septuagint
In The King James Version
In Context
4If thou art poor, measure not thyself with a rich man; but refrain thyself in thy wisdom.
6Sup not with an envious man, neither desire thou his meats:
Cross References
Job 1:14And, behold, there came a messenger to Job, and said to him, The yokes of oxen were ploughing, and the she-asses were feeding near them;
Psalms 39:6O Lord my God, thou hast multiplied thy wonderful works, and in thy thoughts there is none who shall be likened to thee: I declared and spoke of them: they exceeded number.
Proverbs 27:24For a man has not strength and power for ever; neither does he transmit it from generation to generation.
Ecclesiastes 5:13And that wealth shall perish in an evil trouble: and the man begets a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
Isaiah 55:2Wherefore do ye value at the price of money, and give your labour + 55:2 See Col. 2. ult.for that which will not satisfy? hearken to me, and ye shall eat that which is good, and your soul shall feast itself on good things.
Jeremiah 39:12and I gave it to Baruch son of Nerias, son of Maasæas, in the sight of Anameel my father's brother's son, and in the sight of the men that stood by and wrote in the book of the purchase, and in the sight of the Jews that were in the court of the prison.
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 →