כִּי סֹבֵ֣א וְ֭זוֹלֵל יִוָּרֵ֑שׁ וּ֝קְרָעִ֗ים תַּלְבִּ֥ישׁ נוּמָֽה
For the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; And drowsiness clothes them in rags.
World English Bible · Public Domain
Proverbs 23:21
Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) Proverbs 23:21 appears in the Hebrew Old Testament. The text above is from the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Each word links to its Strong’s number, a concise gloss, and parsing drawn from the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible morphology. Click any word for its full Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) entry.
English Translation
For the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; And drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Highlights
- 1 hapax legomenon — only here in the Hebrew Bible
- 1 first appearance in the Hebrew Bible
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Compare translations 3
The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.
Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.
Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.
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World English Bible Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; And drowsiness clothes them in rags.
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King James Version Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
For one who drinks much and one who eats gluttonously will become poor, and slumber will clothe rags.
unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).
Show all 18 translations
Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.
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World English Bible Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; And drowsiness clothes them in rags.
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Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
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Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
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King James Version Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
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American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; And drowsiness will clothe `a man' with rags.
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Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
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Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton shall bee poore, and the sleeper shalbe clothed with ragges.
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Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
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Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.
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Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
For the drunkard and glutton become poor, || And drowsiness clothes with rags.
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Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
for the drunkard and the glutton become poor and slumber will clothe them with rags.
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
For one who drinks much and one who eats gluttonously will become poor, and slumber will clothe rags.
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Darby Bible Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth with rags.
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World Messianic Bible Public Domain
for the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
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Webster's Bible Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
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Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
For people who get drunk and overeat lose all they've got, and they spend so much time dozing that all they have left to wear is rags.
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Bible in Basic English Public Domain
For those who take delight in drink and feasting will come to be in need; and through love of sleep a man will be poorly clothed.
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JPS Tanakh (1917) Public Domain
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).
Word by word
More ways to search: Search by grammar → Find every occurrence → Compare this word →
Practice this passage: Drill this verse → Learn its vocabulary →
נוּמָֽה
nûwmâh
H5124
“drowsiness”
Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute
- Appears 1× in the Hebrew Bible
- First appears here
- Part of Speech
- Noun
- Type
- Common
- Gender
- Feminine
- Number
- Singular
- State
- Absolute
Full BDB Definition
drowsiness, somnolence, indolence (figuratively)
- כִּי kîy H3588 “that” Conjunction
- סֹבֵ֣א çâbâʼ H5433 “drinking heavily” Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
- וְ֭זוֹלֵל zâlal H2151 “and · being worthless” Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
- יִוָּרֵ֑שׁ yârash H3423 “to inherit” Verb, Niphal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
- וּ֝קְרָעִ֗ים qeraʻ H7168 “and · rags” Conjunction + Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute
- תַּלְבִּ֥ישׁ lâbash H3847 “to clothe” Verb, Hiphil, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular
- נוּמָֽה nûwmâh H5124 “drowsiness” Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute
About this verse
These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →
- 7
- words
- 7
- distinct lemmas
- Wisdom
- section
Notable vocabulary
1 hapax legomenon — a word that appears only here in the entire Hebrew Bible:
- נוּמָֽה drowsiness H5124
First appearance in Scripture
This word makes its first canonical appearance in the Hebrew Bible here:
- נוּמָֽה drowsiness H5124
Shared distinctive vocabulary
וּ֝קְרָעִ֗ים rag H7168 occurs in 4 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:
Grammatical profile
- 4 verbs
- 2 nouns
- 1 conjunction
Verb forms
- סֹבֵ֣א Qal · Participle Active
- וְ֭זוֹלֵל Qal · Participle Active
- יִוָּרֵ֑שׁ Niphal · Imperfect
- תַּלְבִּ֥ישׁ Hiphil · Imperfect
Hebrew & Septuagint length
In English translation the verse runs 15 words from the Hebrew and 19 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.
A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.
Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.
In the original languages it is 7 Hebrew tokens and 13 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.
Cross-references
11Topical passages linked to Proverbs 23:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.
- Proverbs 21:17 He who loves pleasure shall be a poor man: He who loves wine and oil shall not be rich.
- Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep. The idle soul shall suffer hunger.
- Philippians 3:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
- Deuteronomy 21:20 and they shall tell the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
- Proverbs 6:9–11 How long will you sleep, sluggard? When will you arise out of your sleep?
- 1 Corinthians 5:11 But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. Don't even eat with such a person.
- Galatians 5:21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
- Proverbs 24:30–34 I went by the field of the sluggard, By the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
- Joel 1:5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; For it is cut off from your mouth.
- 1 Corinthians 6:10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortioners, will inherit the Kingdom of God.
- Isaiah 28:1–3 Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley of those who are overcome with wine!
Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).
Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint
The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.
These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.
πᾶς γάρ μέθυσος καί πορνοκόπος πτωχεύω καί ἐνδύω διαῥήγνυμι καί ῥακώδης πᾶς ὑπνώδης
for every drunkard and whoremonger shall be poor; and every sluggard shall clothe himself with tatters and ragged garments.
LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain
On this verse, The Pulpit Commentary discusses the Septuagint’s reading. Read the note in Commentary ↓
Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →
Lesson kit
Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.
Proverbs, in the Wisdom, opens this verse with 7 words (7 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is nûwmâh (“drowsiness”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.
Discussion questions
- What does “drowsiness” (nûwmâh) contribute to the verse as a whole?
- 1 word here appears nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. Why might the author reach for such rare wording?
- This is the first place “drowsiness” appears in Scripture (first appears here). What does its debut here establish?
- How does 1 Kings 11:30, which shares the word «rag», read alongside this verse?
- The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
- «סֹבֵ֣א» is a Qal Participle Active verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
- Compare how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?
Things to notice
- 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible.
- 1 word makes its first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
- This verse counts 7 Hebrew ↔ 13 Greek words.
- These translations choose different wording for 19 words in this verse.
- 7 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 7 words in this verse.
Commentary
Notes on Proverbs 23:21 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.
Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →
Trapp's Complete Commentary
John Trapp
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill's Exposition
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Matthew Poole's English Annotations
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Kretzmann's Popular Commentary
Paul E. Kretzmann
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Rashi
Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)
Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.