Proverbs 23:33

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Proverbs 23:33 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Thine eyes shall behold strange things, And thy heart shall utter perverse things.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Thine eyes shall behold strange things, And thy heart shall utter perverse things.
Proverbs 23:33 — American Standard Version

Context — Proverbs 23

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
33Thine eyes shall behold strange things, And thy heart shall utter perverse things.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Thine eyes shall behold strange women, etc.] Being inflamed with wine, shall look upon women, other men’s wives, and lust after them; or harlots, whom seeking after or meeting with, when in their cups, are drawn into their embraces; excess of wine leads to whoredomf647. So Aben Ezra supplies the word “women”, and Jarchi interprets it to this sense; but the Targum renders it, “strange things”; and so many others: a drunken man, through the lunges and vapours that ascend into his brain, fancies he sees strange sights; he sees things double; imagines that he sees trees walk, and many such like absurd and monstrous things; and thine heart shall utter perverse things; or the mouth, from the…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The moral effects: it inflames passion (Gen 19:31, Gen 19:35), lays open the heart, produces insensibility to the greatest dangers, and debars from reformation, under the severest sufferings.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Another continuous exhortation rather than a collection of maxims. Proverbs 23:16 The teacher rejoices when the disciple’s heart Proverbs 23:15 receives wisdom, and yet more when his lips can utter it. Reins - See Job 19:27 note. Proverbs 23:17 Envy sinners - Compare in Psalms 37:1; Psalms 73:3; the feeling which looks half-longingly at the prosperity of evil doers. Some connect the verb “envy” with the second clause, “envy not sinners, but envy, emulate, the fear of the Lord.” Proverbs 23:18 Or, For if there is an end (hereafter), thine expectations shall not be cut off. There is an implied confidence in immortality. Proverbs 23:20 Riotous eaters of flesh - The word is the same as “glutton”…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“eyes: Gen 19:32-38 and: Pro 31:5; Psa 69:12; Dan 5:4; Hos 7:5; Jde 1:12, Jde 1:13 Proverbs 23:34”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification