Proverbs 23
1 When you sit down for a meal with a ruler, look carefully at what is placed before you,
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
2 and cut down if you have a big appetite.
For thou puttest a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man of a craving desire.
3 Don't be greedy for his fancy food, for it's offered with deceptive motives.
Do not long for his savory meats; they are deceitful food.
4 Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich—be wise enough not to bother!
Fatigue thyself not to become rich; because thou hast understanding, forbear.
5 It disappears in the blink of an eye, suddenly growing wings and flying off into the sky like an eagle.
When thou lettest merely thy eyes fly over it, it is no more: for it will ever make itself wings: like an eagle will it fly toward heaven.
6 Don't accept meal invitations from miserly people; don't be greedy for their fancy food,
Eat not the bread of a man with an evil eye, and do not long for his savory meats;
7 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.
For as though there were a division in his soul, so doth he act: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8 You'll vomit up the little pieces you've eaten, and your kind words of appreciation will be wasted.
Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou spit out, and thou hast wasted thy pleasant words.
9 Don't talk to stupid people because they'll ridicule your wise words.
Speak not before the ears of a fool; for he will despise the intelligence of thy words.
10 Don't move ancient boundary markers, and don't encroach on fields belonging to orphans,
Remove not the ancient landmark, and into the fields of the fatherless must thou not enter;
11 for their Protector is powerful and he will plead their case against you.
For their redeemer is strong; he will indeed plead their cause with thee.
12 Focus your mind on instruction; listen intently to words of knowledge.
Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thy ears to the sayings of knowledge.
13 Don't keep from disciplining your children—a beating won't kill them.
Withhold not from a lad correction; for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Thou wilt indeed beat him with the rod; but thou wilt deliver his soul from perdition. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if you think wisely then I'll be happy;
My son, If thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16 I'll be delighted when you say what's right.
And my reins shall exult when thy lips speak what is equitable.
17 Don't think enviously of sinners, but always remember to honor the Lord,
Let not thy heart be envious against sinners; but [remain] in the fear of the lord all the time.
18 for there's definitely a future for you, and your hope will not be crushed.
For surely there is a future, and thy hope will not be cut off.
19 Pay attention, my son, and be wise; make sure your mind concentrates on following the right way.
Hear thou, my son, and become wise, and guide thy heart on the right way.
20 Don't join in with people who drink too much wine or who stuff themselves with meat.
Be not among those that drink wine immoderately, among those that over-indulge in eating flesh:
21 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.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth a man in rags.
22 Pay attention to your father, and don't disregard your mother when she's old.
Hearken unto thy father that hath begotten thee, and despise not thy mother although she be old.
23 Invest in truth—and don't sell it! Invest in wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
Buy the truth and sell it not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 Children who do right make their fathers very happy; a wise son brings joy to his father.
The father of the righteous will be greatly glad, and he that begetteth a wise child will have joy through him.
25 Make your father and mother happy; bring joy to her who gave birth to you.
Let [then] thy father and thy mother rejoice, and let her that hath born thee be glad.
26 My son, give me your undivided attention, and cheerfully follow my example.
Give, my son, thy heart unto me, and let thy eyes watch my ways.
27 A prostitute is like being trapped in a pit; an immoral woman is like getting stuck a narrow well,
For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow well.
28 Like a robber, she lies in wait ready to ambush men and make more of them unfaithful to their wives.
She also lieth in wait like a robber, and she increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 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?
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath quarrels? who hath complaints? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 —those who spend a long time drinking wine, those who are always trying some new cocktail.
They that tarry late over the wine: they that come to seek for mixed drink.
31 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.
Do not look on the wine when it looketh red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it glideth down so readily.
32 In the end it bites like a serpent, it stings like a snake.
At the last it will bite like a serpent, and like a basilisk will it sting.
33 You'll hallucinate, seeing strange things, and your confused mind will make you say all kinds of craziness.
Thy eyes will see strange forms, and thy heart will speak perverse things.
34 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,
And thou wilt be like one that lieth down in the heart of the sea, or as he that lieth on the top of a mast.
35 “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.”
“They smote me, [but] I suffered no pain; they struck me hard, [but] I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will continue to seek it again.”
