Proverbs 23:4

Do not thou travail to be made rich, but set thou measure to thy prudence. (Do not thou labour to be made rich, but set thou a limit to what thou can achieve.)

Wycliffe Modern Spelling

In The King James Version

Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.

In Context

3desire thou not of his meats, in whom is the bread of lying. (Do not thou desire any of his food, for he is not what he seemeth to be or for this is not what it seemeth to be.)

5Raise not thine eyes to riches, which thou mayest not have; for those shall make to themselves pens, as of an eagle, and they shall fly into heaven. (Raise not up thine eyes to riches, which thou cannot hold onto; for they shall make wings for themselves, like an eagle, and they shall fly away into the heavens.)

Read all of Proverbs 23

Cross References

Proverbs 3:5Have thou trust in the Lord, of all thine heart; and lean thou not to thy prudence. (Have thou trust in the Lord, with all thy heart, and lean thou not unto thy own understanding.)

Proverbs 15:27He that followeth avarice, troubleth his house; but he that hateth gifts shall live. Sins be purged by mercy and faith; each man boweth away from evil by the dread of the Lord, (or Sins be cleansed by love and faith; all can turn away from evil by the fear of the Lord or with reverence for the Lord).

Proverbs 27:24For thou shalt not have power continually; but a crown shall be given to thee in generation and into generation. (For thou shalt not have wealth forever; nor shall a crown endure for generations and generations.)

Ecclesiastes 5:13Also another sickness is full evil, which I saw under the sun; riches (that) be kept into the harm of their lord.

Jeremiah 9:22Speak thou, The Lord saith these things, And the dead body of a man shall fall down as a turd on the face of the country (side), and as hay behind the back of the mower, and none there is that gathereth (or and there is no one who gathereth them).

John 6:27Work ye not (for) meat that perisheth, but (for) that that dwelleth into everlasting life, which meat man’s Son shall give to you; for God the Father hath marked him. (Work not for the food that perisheth, but for that which remaineth unto eternal life, which food man’s Son shall give to you; for God the Father hath sealed him.)

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 23:2-4

Cautions against Luxury and Covetousness. 1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: 2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. 3 Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat. The sin we are here warned against is luxury and sensuality, and the indulgence of the appetite in eating and drinking, a sin that most easily besets us. 1. We are here told when we enter into temptation, and are in most danger of falling into this sin: " When… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Proverbs 23:4