Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 21:17 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: King James Version
" He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. "
Proverbs 21:17
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
15 It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
18 The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.
19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
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Create Free AccountBible Guided Commentary
This verse gives a warning against a life of luxury and pleasure, because it ruins a person’s earthly interests. It starts by describing the kind of person in view: one who loves pleasure. God allows us to enjoy the good things of the senses in a modest and proper way, such as wine that gladdens the heart and oil that makes the face shine and look healthy.
But the person who loves these things, sets his heart on them, and keeps wanting every pleasure made as strong as possible, has gone too far. He cannot bear anything that interrupts his enjoyment. He values these comforts above all else, and they dull his taste for spiritual joys. Such a person is like the one described in (2 Timothy 3:4).
The verse also tells what usually happens to such a person in this life. He becomes poor. A life ruled by sensual desire costs a great deal, and there are many examples of people who once could not live without rich food and luxury, but later had no money for even basic needs and had to live on charity. Many a dandy has ended up a beggar.
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From This Chapter
Proverbs 21:1
"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will."
Proverbs 21:2
"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts."
Proverbs 21:3
"To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice."
Proverbs 21:4
"An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin."
Proverbs 21:5
"The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want."
Proverbs 21:6
"The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death."
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