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Selected Verse: Proverbs 20:17 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Pr 20:17	Strong Concordance	Bread [03899] of deceit [08267] is sweet [06156] to a man [0376]; but afterwards [0310] his mouth [06310] shall be filled [04390] with gravel [02687].
	King James	Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
Bread . . . sweet--either as unlawfully (Pro 9:17) or easily obtained. mouth . . . gravel--well expresses the pain and grief given at last.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

Bread . . . sweet--either as unlawfully (Pro 9:17) or easily obtained.

mouth . . . gravel--well expresses the pain and grief given at last.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
"To eat gravel" was a Hebrew Lam 3:16, and is an Arabic, phrase for getting into trouble. So "bread," got by deceit, tastes sweet at first, but ends by leaving the hunger of the soul unsatisfied. There is a pleasure in the sense of cleverness felt after a hard bargain or a successful fraud, which must be met by bidding men look on the after consequences.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

"To eat gravel" was a Hebrew Lam 3:16, and is an Arabic, phrase for getting into trouble. So "bread," got by deceit, tastes sweet at first, but ends by leaving the hunger of the soul unsatisfied. There is a pleasure in the sense of cleverness felt after a hard bargain or a successful fraud, which must be met by bidding men look on the after consequences.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
17 Sweet to a man is the bread of deceit; Yet at last his mouth is full of gravel. "Bread of deceit" is not deceit itself, as that after which the desire of a man goes forth, and that for which he has a relish (thus, e.g., Immanuel and Hitzig); but that which is not gained by labour, and is not merited. Possession (vid., Pro 4:17) or enjoyment (Pro 9:17) obtained by deceit is thus called, as לחם כּזבים, Pro 23:3, denotes bread; but for him who has a relish for it, it is connected with deceit. Such bread of lies is sweet to a man, because it has come to him without effort, but in the end not only will he have nothing to eat, but his tongue, teeth, and mouth will be injured by small stones; i.e., in the end he will have nothing, and there will remain to him only evil (Fleischer). Or: it changes itself (Job 20:14) at last into gravel, of which his mouth is filled full, as we might say, "it lies at last in his stomach like lead." חצץ is the Arab. ḥaṭny, gravel (Hitzig, grien = gries, coarse sand, grit), R. חץ, scindere. Similarly in Arab. ḥajar, a stone, is used as the image of disappointed expectations, e.g., the adulterer finds a stone, i.e., experiences disappointment.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

17 Sweet to a man is the bread of deceit;

Yet at last his mouth is full of gravel.

"Bread of deceit" is not deceit itself, as that after which the desire of a man goes forth, and that for which he has a relish (thus, e.g., Immanuel and Hitzig); but that which is not gained by labour, and is not merited. Possession (vid., Pro 4:17) or enjoyment (Pro 9:17) obtained by deceit is thus called, as לחם כּזבים, Pro 23:3, denotes bread; but for him who has a relish for it, it is connected with deceit. Such bread of lies is sweet to a man, because it has come to him without effort, but in the end not only will he have nothing to eat, but his tongue, teeth, and mouth will be injured by small stones; i.e., in the end he will have nothing, and there will remain to him only evil (Fleischer). Or: it changes itself (Job 20:14) at last into gravel, of which his mouth is filled full, as we might say, "it lies at last in his stomach like lead." חצץ is the Arab. ḥaṭny, gravel (Hitzig, grien = gries, coarse sand, grit), R. חץ, scindere. Similarly in Arab. ḥajar, a stone, is used as the image of disappointed expectations, e.g., the adulterer finds a stone, i.e., experiences disappointment.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Bread of deceit is sweet - Property acquired by falsehood, speculation, etc., without labor, is pleasant to the unprincipled, slothful man; but there is a curse in it, and the issue will prove it.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826

Bread of deceit is sweet - Property acquired by falsehood, speculation, etc., without labor, is pleasant to the unprincipled, slothful man; but there is a curse in it, and the issue will prove it.

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