Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Consider diligently him that is before thee;
2 And put a knife to thy throat, If thou be a man given to appetite.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties; Seeing they are deceitful food.
4 Weary not thyself to be rich; Cease from thine own wisdom.
5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings, Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, Neither desire thou his dainties:
7 For as he thinketh within himself, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee.
8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, And lose thy sweet words.
9 Speak not in the hearing of a fool; For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark; And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11 For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their cause against thee.
12 Apply thy heart unto instruction, And thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the child; For if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.
15 My son, if thy heart be wise, My heart will be glad, even mine:
16 Yea, my heart will rejoice, When thy lips speak right things.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners; But be thou in the fear of Jehovah all the day long:
18 For surely there is a reward; And thy hope shall not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And guide thy heart in the way.
20 Be not among winebibbers, Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; Yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.
25 Let thy father and thy mother be glad, And let her that bare thee rejoice.
26 My son, give me thy heart; And let thine eyes delight in my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch; And a foreign woman is a narrow pit.
28 Yea, she lieth in wait as a robber, And increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?
30 They that tarry long at the wine; They that go to seek out mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, When it sparkleth in the cup, When it goeth down smoothly:
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, And stingeth like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange things, And thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt; They have beaten me, and I felt it not: When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Proverbs 23
1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
consider carefullyt whatt is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throats
if you possess a large appetite.t
3 Do not crave that ruler’st delicacies,
fors that food is deceptive.s
4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich;
be wise enough to restrain yourself.t
5 When you gaze upon riches,st they are gone,
for they surely make wings for themselves,
and fly off into the sky like an eagle!s
6 Do not eat the food of a stingy person,t
do not crave his delicacies;
7 for he iss like someone calculating the costt in his mind.t
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you;
8 you will vomit ups the little bit you have eaten,
and will have wasted your pleasant words.ts
9 Do not speak in the ears of a fool,s
for he will despise the wisdom of your words.s
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone,
or take overt the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Protectorts is strong;
he will plead their case against you.s
12 Applyt your heart to instruction
and your ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
even if you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
14 If you striket him with the rod,
you will deliver himt from death.t
15 My child,t if your heart is wise,
then my heart also will be glad;
16 my soult will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.s
17 Do not let your heart envyt sinners,
but rather be zealous in fearing the Lordt all the time.
18 For surely there is a future,t
and your hope will not be cut off.s
19 Listen, my child,t and be wise,
and guide your heart on the right way.
20 Do not spend timet among drunkards,t
among those who eat too mucht meat,
21 because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished,
and drowsinesst clothes them with rags.s
22 Listen to your father who begot you,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Acquirets truth and do not sell it –
wisdom, and discipline, and understanding.
24 The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly;s
whoever fathers a wise childt will have joy in him.
25 May your father and your mother have joy;
may she who bore you rejoice.t
26 Give me your heart, my son,t
and let your eyes observe my ways;
27 for a prostitute is liket a deep pit;
a harlott is liket a narrow well.s
28 Indeed, she lies in wait like a robber,t
and increases the unfaithfults among men.s
29 Who has woe?s Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullnesss of the eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,
those who go looking for mixed wine.s
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
when it sparklest in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly.t
32 Afterwardt it bites like a snake,
and stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,t
and your mind will speak perverse things.
34 And you will be like one who lies down in the midstt of the sea,
and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging.s
35 You will say,t “They have struck me, but I am not harmed!
They beat me, but I did not know it!s
When will I awake? I will look for another drink.”t