Proverbs 23:17

Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. LET NOT THINE HEART ENVY SINNERS - in prosperity, so as to be tempted to imitate their example (; ). BUT (BE THOU) (OR, LET THINE HEART BE: FROM THE FIRST CLAUSE) IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD ALL THE DAY LONG - the antidote to envy of the prosperity of sinners. "All the day long;" not by impulsive fits and starts; not following piety only so long as it is attended with worldly success, nor deserting it when thou seest difficulties in the way, and when prosperity seems to attend the wicked....

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 whi

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

LET NOT THINE HEART ENVY SINNERS,.... Their present prosperity and happiness, the pleasure, profit, and honour, they seem to enjoy; all which is but a shadow, fading had temporary; and yet good men are apt to envy it in their hearts, if they do not express it with their lips; and are ready to murmur and think it hard that they should be in straitened circumstances while the wicked are in flourishing ones; and inwardly fret and are uneasy at it, which they should not, Psalms 37:1; or do not "emulate" or "imitate" z them, or do as they do, thinking thereby to enjoy the same prosperity and happiness; choose not their ways, nor desire to be with them, to have their company, or be ranked among them, Proverbs 3:31; BUT [BE THOU] IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD ALL THE DAY LONG; let the fear

FEAR (_ See Scofield) - (Psalms 19:9). _...

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

SINNERS. Hebrew. _chata'._ App-44. THE FEAR OF THE LORD. See note on Proverbs 1:7....

_Let not thine heart envy_ Comp. Psalms 37:1. be thou] Or, _let it_(thy heart) _be_. Some scholars repeat _envy_from the former clause: _but let it envy_with a nobler emulation (the Heb. word is frequently used in a good sense) _the fear of the Lord_....

DISCOURSE: 804 THE FEAR OF GOD ALL THE DAY Proverbs 23:17. _Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long: for surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off_. THE men of this world, feeling but little restraint from the voice of conscience or the fear of God, gratify, each in his own way, their natural inclinations; and therefore they appear happy: and the people of God, especially under troubles and persecutions for righteousness sake, are almost ready to look upon them with an eye of envy: and, if this world only were considered, and temporal enjoyments were the proper standard of happiness, perhaps they might on the whole be congratulated as possessing a happy and an enviable lot [Note: Psalms 63:3.]. But the righteous, under whatever disadvantages they m