Proverbs 23:1

When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
sittest	תֵ֭שֵׁב Te.shev	H3427	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
eat	לִלְח֣וֹם lil.Chom	H3898	to feed on · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
ruler	מוֹשֵׁ֑ל mo.Shel	H4910	to rule · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
consider	בִּ֥ין bin	H995	to separate mentally (or distinguish) · verb, qal infinitive construct
diligently	תָּ֝בִ֗ין ta.Vin	H995	to separate mentally (or distinguish) · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
before	לְפָנֶֽיךָ le.fa.Nei.kha	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 43:32-34 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Eg…
Jude 1:12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

John Gill on Proverbs 23:1

When thou sittest to eat with a ruler,.... Either a supreme ruler, a king, or a subordinate ruler, a nobleman, a judge, a civil magistrate, a person of honour, dignity, and authority; and to sit at table with such is sometimes allowed, and is always reckoned an honour; this particularly diligent and industrious persons are admitted to, who not only are brought to stand before kings and great persons, but to sit at table with them, and eat food with them. And now the wise man advises such how to behave themselves when this is the case: consider diligently what is before thee; or, "considering consider" (q): take special notice of the food and drink set upon the table, and consider well which…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 23:1-3

Pro 22:29, which speaks of a high position near the king, is appropriately followed by a hexastich referring to the slipperiness of the smooth ground of the king's court. 1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Consider well whom thou hast before thee. 2 And put thy knife to thy throat If thou art a man of good appetite. 3 Be not lustful after his dainties, Because it is deceitful food. The ל of ללחום is that of end: ad cibum capiendum, thus as one invited by him to his table; in prose the expression would be לאכל לחם; לחם, to eat, is poet., Pro 4:17; Pro 9:5. The fut. תּבין clothes the admonition in the form of a wish or counsel; the infin. intens. בּין makes it urgent: consider well him w…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 23:1-3

Saying 6: Many proverbs address young men in government service. A ruler’s rich fare might tempt a novice to overindulge through lack of self-control. But he will be vulnerable when sated.

Rashi on Proverbs 23:1

If you sit down to dine Heb. ללחום, to eat. you should understand well Give thought to know who he is, whether he is stingy or generous.

The Church Fathers

The divine Scripture should be understood in an intellectual and spiritual sense, because the knowledge of sense perception, literally understood, is not the truth.
— Evagrius Ponticus, SCHOLIA ON PROVERBS 251:23.1

It is certainly a great table where the lord of the table is himself the banquet. Nobody feeds his guests on himself, yet that is what the Lord Christ did, being himself the host, himself the food and drink. So the martyrs recognized what they ate and drank, so that they could give back the same kind of thing.
— Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 329:1

You are approaching the table of a potentate. You, the faithful, know what table you are approaching.… What regal table are you approaching? One who sets himself before you, not a table spread by the skill of cooks. Christ sets his table before you, namely, himself. Approach this table, and take your fill. Be poor, and you will have your fill.
— Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 332:2

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Abstemiousness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Citizens · RIGHTS OF — RIGHTS OF
Diet Of The Jews, The · Of the rich, luxurious — Of the rich, luxurious
Guest · Rules for the conduct of — Rules for the conduct of
Manners · Rules for guests — Rules for guests
Prudence · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Temperance · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).