Proverbs 13 · Verse 23

Proverbs 13:23

Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.
Proverbs 13:23, King James Version

Proverbs 13:23 in other translations

BSBAbundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but without justice it is swept away.
WEBAn abundance of food is in poor people’s fields, but injustice sweeps it away.
ASVMuch food is in the tillage of the poor; But there is that is destroyed by reason of injustice.
YLTAbundance of food--the tillage of the poor, And substance is consumed without judgment.
DARBYMuch food is in the tillage of the poor; but there is that is lost for want of judgment.
BBEThere is much food in the ploughed land of the poor; but it is taken away by wrongdoing.
WebsterMuch food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

What does Proverbs 13:23 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
23. The laboring poor prosper more than those who injudiciously or wickedly strive, by fraud and violence, to supersede the necessity of lawful labor.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 23 That is destroyed for want of judgment - O, how much of the poverty of the poor arises from their own want of management! They have little or no economy, and no foresight. When they get any thing, they speedily spend it; and a feast and a famine make the chief varieties of their life.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
The poor, yet industrious, thrive, though in a homely manner, while those who have great riches are often brought to poverty for want of judgment.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 13:23 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

רָב\־rov-abundance ofH7230
אֹ֭כֶל'O.khelfoodH400
נִ֣ירnir[the] unplowed ground ofH5215
רָאשִׁ֑יםra.Shimpoor [people]H7326
וְיֵ֥שׁve.Yeshand thereH3426
נִ֝סְפֶּ֗הnis.Peh[is what] is swept awayH5595
בְּלֹ֣אbe.Lo'in notH3808
מִשְׁפָּֽט\׃mish.PatjusticeH4941

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Proverbs 13:23

  • Proverbs 12:11

    He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.

  • Proverbs 28:19

    He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.

  • Ecclesiastes 5:9

    Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

  • Psalms 112:5

    A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.

  • Ecclesiastes 8:5-6

    Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment. Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.

  • Proverbs 27:18

    Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

  • Proverbs 27:23-27

    Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. …

  • Proverbs 6:6-11

    Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? …

  • Proverbs 11:5-6

    The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.

  • Proverbs 12:14

    A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.

  • Jeremiah 8:7-10

    Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them? Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
food.
12:11,14; 27:18,23-27; 28:19; Ec 5:9
destroyed.
6:6-11; 11:5,6; Ps 112:5; Ec 8:5,6; Jer 8:7-10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Proverbs 13:22

    A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

  • Proverbs 13:23

    Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

  • Proverbs 13:24

    He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

Read all of Proverbs 13

Proverbs 13:23 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		En el barbecho de los pobres hay mucho pan: mas piérdese por falta de juicio.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il y a beaucoup à manger dans le défrichement des pauvres, mais il y a ce qui se perd faute de règle.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Der Neubruch der Armen gibt viel Speise, aber mancher geht zu Grunde durch Unrechtlichkeit.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Multi cibi in novalibus patrum, et aliis congregantur absque judicio.