Proverbs 23:1

When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: WHEN THOU SITTEST TO EAT WITH A RULER (TAKING UP , END), CONSIDER DILIGENTLY WHAT (FOOD OR DAINTY) IS BEFORE THEE - so as not to eat greedily, or boldly and familiarly, as if thou wast at home Piscator, etc., take it, 'consider ... who is before thee'-namely, the king and his courtiers; thou shouldst be reverent, and on thy guard against giving offence. In the most ancient times they sat at meals as we do, not lay on couches as in later times (; ). At eating time one is tempted to be off one's guard....

CHAPTER XXIII _Sobriety in eating and drinking, especially at the tables of_ _the great. Have no fellowship with the covetous. Remove not the_ _ancient landmark. Children should receive due correction. Avoid_ _the company of wine-bibbers. Obedience to parents. Avoid lewd_ _connections. The effect of an unfeeling conscience._ NOTES ON CHAP. XXIII Verse Proverbs 23:1. _WHEN THOU SITTEST TO EAT WITH A RULER_] When invited to the table of thy betters, eat _moderately_. Do not appear as if half starved at home. Eat not of _delicacies_ to which thou art not accustomed; they are deceitful meat

WHAT IS BEFORE THEE - Beware lest dainties tempt thee to excess. Or, “consider diligently who is before thee,” the character and temper of the ruler who invites thee....

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 23:1 A hexastich closely connected with the last verse of the preceding chapter, as if the warning was addressed to the man of skill whom his talents had made the guest of kings. PROVERBS 23:1 WHEN THOU SITTEST TO EAT WITH A RULER. This, of course, would be a great honour to a man of lowly birth, or to one of the middle class, to whom the manners of courts and palaces were practically unknown. CONSIDER DILIGENTLY WHAT IS BEFORE THEE. So the Vulgate, _Qua apposita sunt ante faciem tuam_;_ _and the Septuagint, Τὰ παρατιθέμενά σοι_. _Take heed lest the unusual dainties on the table tempt thee to excess, which may lead not only to unseemly behavi

WHEN THOU SITTEST TO EAT WITH A RULER,.... Either a supreme ruler, a king, or a subordinate ruler, a nobleman, a judge, a civil magistrate, a person of honour, dignity, and authority; and to sit at table with such is sometimes allowed, and is always reckoned an honour; this particularly diligent and industrious persons are admitted to, who not only are brought to stand before kings and great persons, but to sit at table with them, and eat food with them. And now the wise man advises such how to behave themselves when this is the case: CONSIDER DILIGENTLY WHAT [IS] BEFORE THEE; or, "considering consider" q: take special notice of the food and drink set upon the table, and consider well which may be most proper and safe to eat and drink of; for though a man may lawfully eat of whatsoever is set before him; every creature of God being good, if it be received with thanksgiving, and sanctifi...

CHAPTER 23 INSTRUCTIONS CONTINUED The opening proverbs of this chapter treat of self-restraint in curbing the appetite and give manners to be observed in the presence of a superior. Warnings against riches and their uncertainty are contained in Proverbs 23:4 and Proverbs 23:5. How well it would be if the great mass of professing Christians, and some true believers also, would consider this instruction: “Labor not to be rich.” But this exhortation as well as the exhortation in 1Ti 6:1-10 is overlooked, and many who profess to have their riches in Christ, in the heavenly places and never ending glory, weary themselves with earthly gain, and aim to become wealthy. But riches have wings; they can fly away swiftly as does the eagle when he mounts heavenward. This too is mentioned in the epistle to Timoth

It is possible to take these three verses together as a warning against treachery lurking in the dainties of a royal table. In that case, in Proverbs 23:1 we should render consider diligently what (_mg._) is set before thee, and in Proverbs 23:2 continue, For thou wilt put (_mg.)._ But possibly the general interpretation represented by RV is more suitable, and Proverbs 23:3 has come in by error from Proverbs 23:6, where it more naturally belongs. Proverbs 23:4 f. The uncertainty of riches. The general sense is clear, but the text is

WHEN. Forasmuch as. Taking the act for granted. THOU. The second person is continued down to Proverbs 23:24. CONSIDER. Discern. WHAT: or, who....

_what_ Rather, WHO. Be continually on your guard; let not the luxury that surrounds you betray you into forgetting in whose presence you are, for the favour of a ruler, an Eastern despot, is a dangerous thing....

WHEN THOU SITTEST TO EAT WITH A RULER, &C.— There are two evils to be avoided at the tables of the great: the one is, too much talking; the other, too much eating: the wise man exhorts his disciple to avoid both the one and the other by the phrase, _put a knife to thy throat;_ "Repress your appetite, and your inclination to talk." Wine, company, and the gaiety which attends entertainments, often invite men to be too free in the use of meat and drink; and it is by these that kings frequently prove the fidelity and the secrecy of their confidants. Monarchs, 'tis said, with many a flowing bowl, Search through the deep recesses of his soul, Whom for their future friendship they design; And put him to the torture in his wine. Hor. Ars Poet. ver. 435. See also Sir 31:12-14. Schultens and some others render the second verse: _For thou wilt put a knife to thy throat, if thou art given to appeti...