Selfish Eye

(Proverbs 23:6 NAS77)  Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;

(Proverbs 23:6 KJV)  Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:

Notice what is not said about these people.  It is not labeling them “evil”, just “selfish” (7451a/5869) in the NASB.  That assumption would be wrong.  Here the KJV gives us a better translation because it gives us the literal “evil” (7451a) “eye” (5869).  I wonder if this is a nod to postmodern philosophy in which there is not such thing as evil, just misunderstood victims. 

There is a danger in trying to make things sound modern.  God has a reason for the words He chose to have the authors write down.  When He had Solomon pen “evil eye” He wanted people to hear “evil eye” not “selfish”.  The point is that being selfish is a sin.  It is the mark of a personality that is not in submission to the God of the universe. 

So?  Dig a little deeper when you read.  Look for opportunities to compare translations and if you are seeking truth ask yourself, “Why the difference?”  Sometimes the shoe will come down on one side, sometimes on the other but in both cases you will walk closer to the truth.