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

—6—

1 When you are invited
to eat with a king,
use your best manners.

2 Don't go and stuff yourself!
That would be just the same
as cutting your throat.

3 Don't be greedy for all
that fancy food!
It may not be so tasty.

—7—

4 Give up trying so hard
to get rich.

5 Your money flies away
before you know it,
just like an eagle
suddenly taking off.

—8—

6 Don't accept an invitation
to eat a selfish person's food,
no matter how good it is.

7 People like that take note
of how much you eat.t
They say, “Take all you want!”
But they don't mean it.

8 Each bite will come back up,
and all your kind words
will be wasted.

—9—

9 Don't talk to fools—
they will just make fun of you.

—10—

10 Don't move a boundary markert
or take the land
that belongs to orphans.

11 God All-Powerful is there
to defend them against you.

—11—

12 Listen to instruction
and do your best to learn.

—12—

13 Don't fail to correct
your children.
You won't kill them
by being firm,

14 and it may even
save their lives.

—13—

15 My children,
if you show good sense,
I will be happy,

16 and if you are truthful,
I will really be glad.

—14—

17 Don't be jealous of sinners,
but always honour the Lord.

18 Then you will truly have hope
for the future.

—15—

19 Listen to me, my children!
Be wise and have enough sense
to follow the right path.

20 Don't be a heavy drinker
or stuff yourself with food.

21 It will make you feel drowsy,
and you will end up poor
with only rags to wear.

—16—

22 Pay attention to your father,
and don't neglect your mother
when she grows old.

23 Invest in truth and wisdom,
discipline and good sense,
and don't part with them.

24 Make your father truly happy
by living right and showing
sound judgment.

25 Make your parents proud,
especially your mother.

—17—

26 My son, pay close attention,
and gladly follow
my example.

27 Bad women and unfaithful wives
are like a deep pit—

28 they are waiting to attack you
like a gang of robbers
with victim after victim.

—18—

29 Who is always in trouble?
Who argues and fights?
Who has cuts and bruises?
Whose eyes are red?

30 Everyone who stays up late,
having just one more drink.

31 Don't even look
at that colourful stuff
bubbling up in the glass!
It goes down so easily,

32 but later it bites
like a poisonous snake.

33 You will see weird things,
and your mind
will play tricks on you.

34 You will feel tossed about
like someone trying to sleep
on a ship in a storm.

35 You will be bruised all over,
without even remembering
how it all happened.
And you will lie awake asking,
“When will morning come,
so I can drink some more?”