Proverbs 23
1 When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.
When you sit down for a meal with a ruler, look carefully at what is placed before you,
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.
and cut down if you have a big appetite.
3 Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.
Don't be greedy for his fancy food, for it's offered with deceptive motives.
4 Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.
Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich—be wise enough not to bother!
5 Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven.
It disappears in the blink of an eye, suddenly growing wings and flying off into the sky like an eagle.
6 Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
Don't accept meal invitations from miserly people; don't be greedy for their fancy food,
7 Because like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee.
for what they're thinking inside is what they really are. They say, “Come on, eat and drink!”—but in their minds they don't really care about you.
8 The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.
You'll vomit up the little pieces you've eaten, and your kind words of appreciation will be wasted.
9 Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.
Don't talk to stupid people because they'll ridicule your wise words.
10 Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:
Don't move ancient boundary markers, and don't encroach on fields belonging to orphans,
11 For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.
for their Protector is powerful and he will plead their case against you.
12 Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.
Focus your mind on instruction; listen intently to words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.
Don't keep from disciplining your children—a beating won't kill them.
If you use physical correction you can save them from death. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:
My son, if you think wisely then I'll be happy;
16 And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.
I'll be delighted when you say what's right.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:
Don't think enviously of sinners, but always remember to honor the Lord,
18 Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.
for there's definitely a future for you, and your hope will not be crushed.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.
Pay attention, my son, and be wise; make sure your mind concentrates on following the right way.
20 Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:
Don't join in with people who drink too much wine or who stuff themselves with meat.
21 Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
For people who get drunk and overeat lose all they've got, and they spend so much time dozing that all they have left to wear is rags.
22 Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Pay attention to your father, and don't disregard your mother when she's old.
23 Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Invest in truth—and don't sell it! Invest in wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.
Children who do right make their fathers very happy; a wise son brings joy to his father.
25 Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.
Make your father and mother happy; bring joy to her who gave birth to you.
26 My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.
My son, give me your undivided attention, and cheerfully follow my example.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
A prostitute is like being trapped in a pit; an immoral woman is like getting stuck a narrow well,
28 She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.
Like a robber, she lies in wait ready to ambush men and make more of them unfaithful to their wives.
29 Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Who's in trouble? Who's in pain? Who's arguing? Who's complaining? Who's injured for no reason? Who's got bloodshot eyes?
30 Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.
—those who spend a long time drinking wine, those who are always trying some new cocktail.
31 Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,
Don't let the look of wine tempt you—how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smooth it feels as it goes down.
32 But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.
In the end it bites like a serpent, it stings like a snake.
33 Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
You'll hallucinate, seeing strange things, and your confused mind will make you say all kinds of craziness.
34 And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost.
You'll stumble around like you're on the rolling ocean, you'll be tossed about like someone lying down at the top of a ship's mast, saying,
35 And thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake, and find wine again?
“People punched me, but it didn't hurt me; they beat me, but I didn't feel a thing. I've got to get up because I need another drink.”
