Are you one of the legion who misuse this verse of scripture?

One of the most misquoted verses in all of scripture is Proverbs 23:7.

It’s a favorite among the “positive thinking” and pop psychology groupies (although many ministers have turned to its misuse when convenient), and you have to use the King James Version, New King James Version, or the New American Standard Bible to get it wrong. So what do people do? They turn to these versions to get the wrong interpretation they so desire. This sentence of scripture in the mistranslated versions reads:

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.”

People who pull out this verse to use don’t quote the entire verse, just the portion denoted in bold above. They use just this portion of a sentence of scripture in an attempt to claim biblical authority for the concept that “however you think of yourself in your heart, that’s who you are.”

That’s not accurate, which is why that isn’t what Proverbs 23:7 really says.

First, let’s note that for M A N Y people, how they think about themselves is often radically different than the truth about themselves. You can think about, or see yourself, any way you want, but that doesn’t mean it’s true or who you really are or what you’re really like.

Second, take a look at the majority of the other translations of that verse (especially in modern English language bibles) — especially in context, reading verses before and after verse 7 — and you will find the popular twisting of this verse is wrong. Look for yourselves at Proverbs 23:5-8 in the other translations provided below (verse 7 for each will be highlighted in bold):

NEW LIVING TRANSLATION (NLT)
“In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies. They are always thinking about how much it costs. “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it. You will throw up what little you’ve eaten, and your compliments will be wasted.”

NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)
“Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.”

ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV)
“When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words.”

CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH VERSION (CEV)
“Your money flies away before you know it, just like an eagle suddenly taking off. Don’t accept an invitation to eat a selfish person’s food, no matter how good it is. People like that take note of how much you eat. They say, “Take all you want!” But they don’t mean it. Each bite will come back up, and all your kind words will be wasted.”

NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION (NRSV)
“When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle toward heaven. Do not eat the bread of the stingy; do not desire their delicacies; for like a hair in the throat, so are they. “Eat and drink!” they say to you; but they do not mean it. You will vomit up the little you have eaten, and you will waste your pleasant words.”

REVISED STANDARD VERSION (RSV)
“When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes to itself wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies; for he is like one who is inwardly reckoning. “Eat and drink!” he says to you; but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up the morsels which you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words.”

THE MESSAGE
“Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; wealth sprouts wings and flies off into the wild blue yonder. Don’t accept a meal from a tightwad; don’t expect anything special. He’ll be as stingy with you as he is with himself; he’ll say, “Eat! Drink!” but won’t mean a word of it. His miserly serving will turn your stomach when you realize the meal’s a sham.”

Positive thinking gurus and their groupies love the mis-interpretation of Proverbs 23:7 because they point to it as the Bible teaching you that whatever you think about yourself is true, so then they teach you to picture yourself as “successful” and wealthy and “making all your dreams come true.”

That is not what the first half of verse 7 states.

I’ve shared with many people who misuse this verse what a more correct rendering of the verse would be, and you might be surprised at how many (most!) just shrugged off the insight and continued to publicly misuse the verse. Let me encourage you to look closely for yourself at what that verse, IN CONTEXT, and correctly translated is really saying and I hope you won’t be one who just dismisses accuracy with scripture to twist it into something you want it to say.

Scotty