Proverbs 21:17

The one who loves ¹  pleasure ²  will be ³  a poor person; ⁴  whoever loves wine and anointing oil ⁵  will not be rich.

He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.

He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

Those who love pleasure become poor; wine and luxury are not the way to riches.

You're addicted to thrills? What an empty life! The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied.

The lover of pleasure will be a poor man: the lover of wine and oil will not get wealth.

Whoever loves pleasure will suffer want; whoever loves wine and oil will not be rich.

He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

The one who loves ¹  pleasure ²  will be ³  a poor person; ⁴  whoever loves wine and anointing oil ⁵  will not be rich.

¹ sn The participle “loves” (אֹהֵב, ’ohev) indicates in this context that more is involved than the enjoyment of pleasure, for which there is no problem. The proverb is looking at “love” in the sense of needing and choosing, an excessive or uncontrolled indulgence in pleasure.

² sn “Pleasure” is actually the Hebrew word “joy” (שִׂמְחָה, simkhah). It is a metonymy of effect, the cause being the good life that brings the joy. In the second colon, “wine” and “oil” would be metonymies of cause, the particular things in life that bring joy. Therefore the figures in the lines work together to give the complete picture.

³ tn The phrase “will be” is supplied in the translation.

⁴ tn Heb “a man of poverty”; NRSV “will suffer want.”

⁵ sn In elaborate feasts and celebrations the wine was for drinking but the oil was for anointing (cf. NAB, NCV “perfume”). Both of these characterize the luxurious life (e.g., Ps 23:5; 104:15; Amos 6:6).