Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
Parallel translations
- WEB Fraudulent food is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth is filled with gravel.
- KJV Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
- BSB Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man, but later his mouth is full of gravel.
- NASB Bread obtained by a lie is sweet to a person, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
- NLT Stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the mouth.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Food gained by fraud tastes sweet but turns to gravel in the mouth. It matters because ill-gotten gain brings bitter consequences.
Overview
Dishonest gain offers momentary pleasure but ends in ruin and regret — the 'gravel' picturing painful, unsatisfying aftermath. Sin promises sweetness yet delivers bitterness (Proverbs 9:17-18; Hebrews 11:25). The proverb urges integrity, since lasting satisfaction comes only through righteous, God-given provision.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Eccl 11:9Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
- Prov 9:17–18“Stolen water is sweet. Food eaten in secret is pleasant.”
- Lam 3:15–16He has filled me with bitterness. He has sated me with wormwood.
- Job 20:12–20“Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue,
- Heb 11:25choosing rather to share ill treatment with God’s people, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time;
- Gen 3:6–7When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too.
- Prov 4:17For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 20:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.