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458 / 1113 · Proverbs 23 · The United Kingdom · Read in Solomon's reign (c. 970–930 BC) by the book's order; the 'words of the wise' collection is of uncertain date

Who Has Woe?

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A young officer is invited to dinner at the Collector's bungalow for the first time. The food is lavish and he is hungry, but an older colleague has warned him: watch what you say, do not overeat, and remember why you were invited. Proverbs 23 begins with that exact scene — when you sit to eat with a ruler, put a knife to your throat if you are greedy. It goes on to money that sprouts wings like an eagle and flies off, and ends with one of the Bible's most vivid pictures of addiction: the drinker who wakes up bruised and reaches for another cup.

Where it sits in the story: Still in Act 3, Israel's story, this is the heart of 'the words of the wise'. The first half keeps the close parallels with the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope — the ruler's table, wealth flying away, the boundary stone. The second half turns warmly personal, a parent pleading with a son. It shows wisdom as training for public life and for the inner life together.

What this chapter is doing: To prepare a young person for the pressures of power, money and pleasure, and to protect the vulnerable, grounding everything in the fear of the LORD and a hope that will not be cut off.

Why it is read here: Proverbs 1–24 and the Song of Songs carry Solomon's name and are read in his reign. Parts were gathered later (Proverbs 25:1 names Hezekiah's scribes), and many scholars date the Song's final form later too.
The walk-through
  • 23:1–11 — At a ruler's table, mind what is set before you; his delicacies may be deceptive. Do not wear yourself out getting rich; wealth sprouts wings and flies off like an eagle. Do not eat with the stingy host who counts every bite. Do not waste words on a fool. Do not move the ancient boundary or enter the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is strong.
  • 23:12–18 — Apply your heart to instruction. Do not withhold discipline from a child. A parent rejoices when a child's heart is wise and his lips speak right. Do not envy sinners, but keep on in the fear of the LORD; there is surely a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
  • 23:19–28 — Do not join heavy drinkers or gluttons, for they end in poverty and rags. Listen to the father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy truth and do not sell it. 'My son, give me your heart.' The prostitute is a deep pit, lying in wait like a robber.
  • 23:29–35 — Who has woe, sorrow, quarrels and bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine. Do not gaze at it sparkling in the cup, for in the end it bites like a snake. The drinker sees strange things and reels like someone tossed at sea; beaten and bruised, he feels nothing, and his first thought on waking is to look for another drink.
What it showsSeveral sayings in 23:1–11 closely parallel the Instruction of Amenemope, including the ruler's table and riches that fly away like birds, confirming the international setting of this section.
Where the evidence stopsThe parallels show literary contact, not the date or route of that contact. 'Redeemer' (23:11) may mean a kinsman-protector or God himself; the text allows both.

Key verse: Proverbs 23:26  ·  So what: The closing portrait of drinking is uncomfortably modern: the denial, the injuries, the craving for the next glass. Many Indian families have lived it. The chapter's answer is not only a warning but a relationship — 'give me your heart' — and a promise that the future is not closed. Its words on boundary stones and orphans also remind us that powerful people still move the markers of the weak.

← A Good Name, and Words from EgyptYou have just read the close of Solomon's sayings and the start of 'the words of the wise' (Proverbs 22). Next, Proverbs 24 finishes that collection and adds 'further sayings of the wise', ending at an overgrown field.The Sluggard's Overgrown Field →
Sources & further reading
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