What does it mean that “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” in Proverbs 23:7?

Answer

Maybe you have heard the expression “you are what you eat.” In a nutritional sense, this statement may be accurate. In the King James Version, Proverbs 23:7 seems to suggest a different but related truth—that we are what we think: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Unfortunately, this translation fails to give contemporary readers a precise understanding of what “as a man thinketh, so is he” really means.

The statement is part of a collection of thirty wise sayings of Solomon, often called “the sayings of the wise” or “the words of the wise.” Solomon compiled these instructions to encourage faith in God, admonish, and teach young people who were seeking wisdom.

Proverbs 23:7 is contained in saying number nine. The context of “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” provides insight into the meaning of the clause, so let’s look at the whole saying:

“Do not eat the bread of a miser,

Nor desire his delicacies;

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

‘Eat and drink!’ he says to you,

But his heart is not with you.

The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,

And waste your pleasant words”

(Proverbs 23:6-8;NKJV).

Note that the context has to do with understanding the heart of a miser or a stingy person. The ESV translates the same passage this way:

“Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;

Do not desire his delicacies,

For he is like one who is inwardly calculating.

‘Eat and drink!’ he says to you,

But his heart is not with you.

You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,

And waste your pleasant words.”

The Hebrew verb translated as “thinketh” in the Authorized Version of Proverbs 23:7 means “estimate” or “calculate.” The clause could be more accurately rendered as “as one who calculates with himself, so is he,” or “he is like one who is inwardly calculating.” The “he” refers to the stingy miser mentioned in verse 6; the NIV translates it as “a begrudging host” who is “always thinking about the cost” of the meal he shares.

According to most modern translations, the ninth saying of Solomon instructs seekers of wisdom to avoid greedily eating food served by a stingy man. Craving such a man’s delicacies is dangerous because his generosity is false. With a warm welcome, he says, “Eat and drink,” but his heart is not in it. He’s not glad to see you enjoying his fare; rather, he is watching every bite you take and calculating the cost the whole time. Once you realize what your host is thinking, you’ll want to spit out your food because what seemed to be offered so freely was begrudgingly served. And all of your kind compliments and table talk were wasted. The penny-pinching host was not genuinely interested in sharing his bounty with you or listening to the conversation you shared as his guest. Everything you said fell on deaf ears because he is the kind of man who is always “thinking/calculating in his heart.”

Willmington’s Bible Handbook aptly summarizes the saying like this: “A dinner invitation from a miser is just as well turned down; your efforts at friendship will be wasted on him or her” (Willmington, H. L., Tyndale House Publishers, 1997, p. 339).

In the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, translators applied a different meaning to this ninth saying: “Sup not with an envious man, neither desire thou his meats: so he eats and drinks as if anyone should swallow a hair, and do not bring him in to thyself, nor eat thy morsel with him: for he will vomit it up, and spoil thy fair words” Proverbs 23:6-8; Brenton LXX.

Greek translators interpreted Solomon’s advice as a caution against inviting an envious or gluttonous individual to dine with you. The Hebrew term translated as “in his heart” in Proverbs 23:7 can also signify “throat,” and the verb “calculates” or “thinketh” can be understood as “hair,” resulting in a phrase like “for like a hair in the throat, so are they” (NRSV) or more clearly put, “for they will stick in your throat like a hair” (REB). Just as having a hair stuck in your throat can trigger a gag reflex or vomiting, dining with an envious person may lead to a feeling of disgust.

Translators have differing views on the meaning of “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” It could be a warning against dining with a calculating, stingy individual or a caution against eating with an envious person who may leave one feeling unwell. In any case, the general advice for the wise is to be careful about their choice of companions, as their attempts at friendship could be in vain.