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Proverbs 23:2-4
New Catholic Bible
Proverbs 23:2-4
New Catholic Bible
2 Control yourself[a]
if you are given to overindulgence.
3 Do not yearn for the ruler’s delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
Wealth Passes Away[b]
4 Do not wear yourself out in the pursuit of wealth,
and cease even to think about it.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:2 Control yourself: literally, “put a knife to your throat”—a proverbial metaphor for restraining one’s appetites.
- Proverbs 23:4 This is an excellent warning: power exposes one to the temptation to amass a fortune with ill-gotten goods: “The love of money is the root of all evils” (1 Tim 6:10; see Prov 15:27; 28:20; Heb 13:5). We must place our trust in God not money (see Jer 17:11; Lk 12:21; 1 Tim 6:17).