Proverbs 24 · Verse 13

Proverbs 24:13

My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
Proverbs 24:13, King James Version

Proverbs 24:13 in other translations

BSBEat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.
WEBMy son, eat honey, for it is good, the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste;
ASVMy son, eat thou honey, for it is good; And the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to thy taste:
YLTEat my son, honey that is good, And the honeycomb--sweet to thy palate.
DARBYEat honey, my son, for it is good; and a honeycomb is sweet to thy taste:
BBEMy son, take honey, for it is good; and the flowing honey, which is sweet to your taste:
WebsterMy son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honey-comb, which is sweet to thy taste:

What does Proverbs 24:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 24:13-14
13-14. As delicious food whets the appetite, so should the rewards of wisdom excite us to seek it.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 And the honey-comb - I have often had occasion to remark how much finer the flavour of honey is in the honey-comb than it is after it has been expressed from it, and exposed to the action of the air. But it has been asserted that the honey-comb is never eaten; it must be by those who have no acquaintance with the apiary. I have seen the comb with its contained honey eaten frequently, and of it I have repeatedly partaken. And that our Lord ate it, is evident from Luk 24:42. Nor can any man who has not eaten it in this way feel the full force of the allusions to the honey-comb and its sweetness in several parts of the sacred writings. See 1Sam 14:27; Psa 19:10; Pro 5:3; Pro 16:24; Pro 27:7; Sol 4:11; Sol 5:1; and the place before us.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Proverbs 24:13-14
We are quickened to the study of wisdom by considering both the pleasure and the profit of it. All men relish things that are sweet to the palate; but many have no relish for the things that are sweet to the purified soul, and that make us wise unto salvation.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 24:13 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.

אֱכָל\־'e.khol-eatH398
בְּנִ֣יbe.NiO son myH1121
דְבַ֣שׁde.VashhoneyH1706
כִּי\־ki-forH3588
ט֑וֹבTov[it is] goodH2896
וְנֹ֥פֶתve.No.fetand honey from [the] combH5317
מָ֝ת֗וֹקma.Tok[is] sweetH4966
עַל\־'al-onH5921
חִכֶּֽךָ\׃chi.Ke.khapalate yourH2441

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

Cross references for Proverbs 24:13

  • Isaiah 7:15

    Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

  • Song of Solomon 5:1

    I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

  • Proverbs 25:16

    Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.

  • Song of Solomon 4:11

    Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

  • Matthew 3:4

    And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

  • Psalms 119:103

    How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

  • Psalms 19:10

    More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

  • Proverbs 25:27

    It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
eat.
25:16,27; So 5:1; Isa 7:15; Mt 3:4
to thy taste. Heb. upon thy palate.

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

Context

  • Proverbs 24:12

    If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?

  • Proverbs 24:13

    My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

  • Proverbs 24:14

    So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

Read all of Proverbs 24

Proverbs 24:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Come, hijo mío, de la miel, porque es buena, y del panal dulce á tu paladar:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Mon fils, mange du miel, car il est bon; et un rayon de miel est doux à ton palais.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Iß Honig, mein Sohn, denn er ist gut, und Honigseim ist deinem Gaumen süß.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Comede, fili mi, mel, quia bonum est, et favum dulcissimum gutturi tuo.