Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider well who is before thee;
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
2 and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties; for they are deceitful food.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4 Weary not thyself to become rich; cease from thine own intelligence:
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5 wilt thou set thine eyes upon it, it is gone; for indeed it maketh itself wings and it flieth away as an eagle towards the heavens.
When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
6 Eat thou not the food of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties.
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
7 For as he thinketh in his soul, so is he. Eat and drink! will he say unto thee; but his heart is not with thee.
for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou vomit up, and thou wilt have wasted thy sweet words.
You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9 Speak not in the ears of a foolish [man], for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their redeemer is mighty; he will plead their cause against thee.
for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
12 Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the child; for [if] thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die:
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine;
My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
16 and my reins shall exult, when thy lips speak right things.
My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners, but [be thou] in the fear of Jehovah all the day;
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
18 for surely there is a result, and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Thou, my son, hear and be wise, and direct thy heart in the way.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
20 Be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh.
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth with rags.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; wisdom, and instruction, and intelligence.
Invest in truth and never sell it— in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 The father of a righteous [man] shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise [son] shall have joy of him:
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
25 let thy father and thy mother have joy, and let her that bore thee rejoice.
May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
26 My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
28 She also lieth in wait as a robber, and increaseth the treacherous among men.
Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.
29 Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who contentions? Who complaining? Who wounds without cause? Who redness of eyes?
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 — They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to try mixed wine.
Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
31 Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it sparkleth in the cup, and goeth down smoothly:
Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
32 at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall speak froward things;
Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
34 and thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, and as he that lieth down upon the top of a mast:
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast:
35 — “They have smitten me, [and] I am not sore; they have beaten me, [and] I knew it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.”
“They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”
