Proverbs 23:20

Hebrew
אַל תְּהִ֥יplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigהָיָה

hebrew

The word הָיָה means “to exist” or “to be” or “to become” or “to come into being” and occurs 3561 times in the Old Testament.

This is the foundational verb of existence, identity, becoming and occurrence.

* It is used in the creation narrative of Genesis 1, represented by the English words Genesis 1:3Exodus 3:12Ruth 1:1Isaiah 2:2
בְסֹֽבְאֵי יָ֑יִן בְּזֹלֲלֵ֖י בָשָׂ֣ר לָֽמוֹ
ESV
Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
NIV
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,
NLT
Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons,
LXX
μὴ ἴσθιplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigεἰμί

greek

εἰμί is the first person singular verb for “to be” (εἶναι [the infinitive form] = “to be”).

It an irregular verb, and, like English, changes significantly between person and tense. For example εἰμί is the word for am and ἦν is the word for was, e.g.
οἰνοπότης μηδὲ ἐκτείνου συμβολαῖς κρεῶν τε ἀγορασμοῖς
KJV
Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:

Proverbs 23:19 ← Proverbs 23:20 → Proverbs 23:21

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