What Does Proverbs 23:3 Mean in the King James?
Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The Hebrew calls the delicacy “bread of lies”: what looks like nourishment can carry deception.
THE MEANING
Food at another person’s table can satisfy your appetite while carrying deceit in what it promises or conceals. The warning speaks whenever something looks rich and desirable: its appeal alone does not prove it will nourish you.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Desire is proof that an offer is good for me.
THE ROOT
כְּזָבִים
kezavim
GROWS FROM
כ־ז־ב
k-z-b
To lie, prove false, or fail.
“deceitful” in this verse is kezavim. The Hebrew calls the food לֶחֶם כְּזָבִים (leḥem kezavim), “bread of falsehoods.” The meal’s deception is not merely a risk around the food; falsehood is built into what is being offered.
ALSO GROWS
kāzāv: A lie or falsehood.
כָּזָב
This noun makes plain that the dish is described in terms of falsehood, not simply poor quality.
kāzav: To lie, disappoint, or fail.
כָּזַב
The root can name both deception and failure, hinting that what looks satisfying may not deliver what it promises.
מַטְעַמּוֹתָיו
maṭʿammōtāw
GROWS FROM
ט־ע־ם
ṭ-ʿ-m
To taste.
The English “dainties” emphasizes luxury, while the Hebrew word is built from the root for taste. That root also names discernment, bringing appetite and judgment together: what tastes appealing still needs to be discerned.
ALSO GROWS
ṭāʿam: To taste or eat.
טָעַם
This branch keeps the word close to the bodily appeal of the food.
ṭaʿam: Taste, discernment, or judgment.
טַעַם
The shared root links the food’s flavor with the discernment needed to see what it contains.
תִּתְאָו
tit'av
GROWS FROM
א־ו־ה
ʾ-w-h
To desire or long for.
“desirous” in this verse is tit'av. The verse addresses desire while it is turning toward the food, before the food is taken in. It makes room to see that a strong longing can arise from appeal without revealing the nature of what is desired.
ALSO GROWS
ʾāvāh: To desire or long for.
אָוָה
This verb expresses the inward reaching that the warning names.
taʾavāh: Desire or craving.
תַּאֲוָה
This noun shows the same root as a felt longing that can draw someone toward what appeals.
THE PATTERN
Appetite can make an offer seem nourishing while hiding what it carries.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.THE THREAD
Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.Both verses use מַטְעַמּוֹת (maṭʿammōt), “dainties,” from טעם (ṭaʿam), “taste.” Psalm 141:4 voices the same danger as a prayer about what one takes in; Proverbs 23:3 exposes the meal itself as bread of falsehood.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us