Proverbs 4:17 (ASV)

Passage

For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 4:15 Avoid it, pass not by it; Turn from it, and pass on.

Proverbs 4:16 For they sleep not, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

Proverbs 4:17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Proverbs 4:19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bread", "wickedness", "drink", "wine", and "violence". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bread" and "wickedness", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "For they sleep not except they do..." into verse 18's "But the path of the righteous is...", so "bread" and "wickedness" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "bread" and "wickedness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.