Belly used Figuratively for the Seat of the Affections

“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?

They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”

Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure.

For our soul has sunk to the dust; our bodies cling to the earth.

From the fruit of his mouth a man’s belly is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.

The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being.

Lashes and wounds scour evil, and beatings cleanse the inmost parts.

I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the people who invade us.

Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”

As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”