Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider well who is before thee;
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, thou shalt consider well, what is before thee;
2 and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
And shalt put a knife to thy throat, if, of great appetite, thou art:
3 Be not desirous of his dainties; for they are deceitful food.
Do not crave his dainties, for, the same, are deceitful food.
4 Weary not thyself to become rich; cease from thine own intelligence:
Do not toil to get wealth, of thine own understanding, forbear:
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.
Wilt thou let thine eye fly thereupon, when it is nothing? for it will, surely make, itself wings, Like an eagle, will it wing its way across the heavens.
6 Eat thou not the food of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties.
Do not eat the food of him that hath a begrudging eye, neither crave thou his dainties;
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, just as he hath thought in his own mind, so, he is: Eat and drink! he may say to thee, but, his heart, is not with thee.
8 Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou vomit up, and thou wilt have wasted thy sweet words.
As for thy morsel thou hast eaten, thou shalt vomit it, so shalt thou waste thy things so sweet.
9 Speak not in the ears of a foolish [man], for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
In the ears of a dullard, do not speak, for he will despise the good sense of thy words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
Do not move back the ancient boundary, and, into the fields of the fatherless, do not enter;
11 for their redeemer is mighty; he will plead their cause against thee.
For, their near of kin, is strong, he, will plead their cause with thee.
12 Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Bring, to correction, thy heart, and thine ears, to the sayings of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the child; for [if] thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die:
Do not withhold, from a child, correction, When thou smitest him with the rod, he shall not die:
Thou, with the rod, shalt smite him, and, his soul from hades, shalt thou deliver. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine;
My son! if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16 and my reins shall exult, when thy lips speak right things.
So shall my reins exult, when thy lips speak the things that are right.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners, but [be thou] in the fear of Jehovah all the day;
Let not thy heart be envious of sinners, only of the reverence of Yahweh, all day long;
18 for surely there is a result, and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
For surely there is a future, and, thine expectation, shall not be cut off.
19 Thou, my son, hear and be wise, and direct thy heart in the way.
Hear, thou, my son, and be wise, and lead forward, in duty, thy heart.
20 Be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh.
Do not be among them who tipple with wine, —among them who are gluttons;
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth with rags.
For, the tippler and the glutton, shall come to poverty, and, rags, shall Slumber put on!
22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Hearken to thy father here, who begat thee, and despise not, when she is old, thy mother.
23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; wisdom, and instruction, and intelligence.
Truth, buy thou, but do not sell, wisdom, and correction, and understanding.
24 The father of a righteous [man] shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise [son] shall have joy of him:
Greatly shall exult, the father of a righteous man, and, he that begetteth a wise son, shall rejoice in him:
25 let thy father and thy mother have joy, and let her that bore thee rejoice.
Rejoice shall thy father and thy mother, yea she, shall exult, who bare thee.
26 My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
Oh give, my son, thy mind unto me, and let, thine eyes, observe, my ways;
27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
For, a deep chasm, is the unchaste woman, and, a narrow pit, the female unknown;
28 She also lieth in wait as a robber, and increaseth the treacherous among men.
Yea, she, as for prey, lieth in wait, and, the treacherous among mankind, she causeth to abound.
29 Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who contentions? Who complaining? Who wounds without cause? Who redness of eyes?
Who hath woe? Who hath outcry of pain? Who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? Who hath needless wounds? Who hath dullness of eyes?
30 — They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to try mixed wine.
They who tarry over wine, they who go in to search for mixed wine.
31 Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it sparkleth in the cup, and goeth down smoothly:
Do not look on wine when it becometh red, when it giveth in the cup its sparkle, glideth down smoothly.
32 at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Its after effect, is that, like a serpent, it biteth, and, like a viper, it doth sting.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall speak froward things;
Thine eyes, will see strange women, and, thy heart, will speak perverse things:
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:
So shalt thou become, as one lying down in the heart of the sea, —or as one lying down on the top of the mastgear:
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 smote me—I felt no pain, They struck me down—I noticed it not, —When shall I wake up? I will go on, I will seek it, again!
