Translators are divided on exactly what “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” means. Just like getting a hair caught in your throat might cause a gag reflex or vomiting, so might the experience of dining with an envious man, leaving you feeling disgusted. The Hebrew word translated “in his heart” in Proverbs 23:7 can also mean “throat,” and the verb calculates or thinketh can be read as “hair,” producing a phrasing such as “for like a hair in the throat, so are they” (NRSV) or, more understandably rendered, “for they will stick in your throat like a hair” (REB). Greek translators took Solomon’s instruction as a warning against inviting an envious or gluttonous man to dine at your table. In the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, translators applied a different meaning to this ninth saying: “Sup not with an envious man, neither desire thou his meats: so he eats and drinks as if any one should swallow a hair, and do not bring him in to thyself, nor eat thy morsel with him: for he will vomit it up, and spoil thy fair words” (Proverbs 23:6–8, Brenton LXX). Willmington’s Bible Handbook aptly sums up the saying like so: “A dinner invitation from a miser is just as well turned down your efforts at friendship will be wasted on him or her” (Willmington, H. Everything you said fell on deaf ears, because he is the kind of man who is always “thinking/calculating in his heart.” The penny-pinching host was not genuinely interested in sharing his bounty with you or listening to the conversation you shared as his guest. And all of your kind compliments and table talk was wasted. Once you realize what your host is thinking, you’ll want to spit out your food because what seemed to be offered so freely was begrudgingly served. He’s not glad to see you enjoying his fare rather, he is watching every bite you take and calculating the cost the whole time. With a warm welcome, he says, “Eat and drink,” but his heart is not in it. Craving such a man’s delicacies is dangerous because his generosity is false. The Hebrew verb translated “thinketh” in the Authorized Version of Proverbs 23:7 means “estimate” or “calculate.” The clause might more accurately be rendered “as one who calculates with himself, so is he,” or “he is like one who is inwardly calculating.” The “he” is the stingy miser mentioned in verse 6 the NIV translates it “a begrudging host” who is “always thinking about the cost” of the meal he shares.Īccording to most modern translations, the ninth saying of Solomon instructs seekers of wisdom to avoid greedily eating food served by a stingy man.
You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, “Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy įor he is like one who is inwardly calculating. The ESV translates the same passage this way: Note that the context has to do with understanding the heart of a miser or a stingy person. The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, The context of “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” provides insight into the meaning of the clause, so let’s look at the whole saying: Proverbs 23:7 is contained in saying number nine. The statement is part of a collection of thirty wise sayings of Solomon, often called “the sayings of the wise” or “the words of the wise.” Solomon compiled these instructions to encourage faith in God, admonish, and teach young people who were seeking wisdom.
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