The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
Loatheth - literally, 'treadeth under foot' (Micah 5:5-6).
But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet - (Job 6:7; Luke 15:16-17.) So those who are "full" of spiritual privileges often "loathe" or make light of them, because of their commonness, while 'hungering souls' relish as sweet the Gospel feast, though they must first eat the "bitter herbs" of self-renunciation and penitence (Exodus 12:8; Matthew 5:6). The older brother, the Jew, full of home privileges murmured; the younger brother, the hungry prodigal, keenly enjoyed the fatted calf (Luke 15:23-32). Good appetite is one of the compensations of poverty. Israel, when fed 'to the full,' loathed "angel's food" as "light bread" (Psalms 78:25; Numbers 11:20). Fulness of bread begets bad appetite, especially in spiritual things (Luke 6:25; Revelation 3:17).