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 him that is before thee;
2 and cut down if you have a big appetite.
And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
3 Don't be greedy for his fancy food, for it's offered with deceptive motives.
Be not desirous of his dainties; seeing they are deceitful meat.
4 Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich—be wise enough not to bother!
Weary not thyself to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom.
5 It disappears in the blink of an eye, suddenly growing wings and flying off into the sky like an eagle.
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for [riches] certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
6 Don't accept meal invitations from miserly people; don't be greedy for their fancy food,
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties:
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 he reckoneth within himself, so is he: 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.
The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
9 Don't talk to stupid people because they'll ridicule your wise words.
Speak not in the hearing of a fool; for he will despise the wisdom 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 enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11 for their Protector is powerful and he will plead their case against you.
For their redeemer is strong; he shall plead their cause against thee.
12 Focus your mind on instruction; listen intently to words of knowledge.
Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Don't keep from disciplining your children—a beating won't kill them.
Withhold not correction from the child: [for] if thou beat him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if you think wisely then I'll be happy;
My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall be glad, even mine:
16 I'll be delighted when you say what's right.
Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
17 Don't think enviously of sinners, but always remember to honor the Lord,
Let not thine heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the fear of the LORD all the day long:
18 for there's definitely a future for you, and your hope will not be crushed.
For surely there is a reward; and thy hope shall 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 be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
20 Don't join in with people who drink too much wine or who stuff themselves with meat.
Be not among winebibbers; among gluttonous eaters of 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 shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe [a man] with rags.
22 Pay attention to your father, and don't disregard your mother when she's old.
Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Invest in truth—and don't sell it! Invest in wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
Buy the truth, and sell it not; [yea], 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 shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
25 Make your father and mother happy; bring joy to her who gave birth to you.
Let thy father and thy mother be glad, and let her that bare thee rejoice.
26 My son, give me your undivided attention, and cheerfully follow my example.
My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes delight in my ways.
27 A prostitute is like being trapped in a pit; an immoral woman is like getting stuck a narrow well,
For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28 Like a robber, she lies in wait ready to ambush men and make more of them unfaithful to their wives.
Yea, she lieth in wait as a robber, and 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 contentions? who hath complaining? 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 long at the wine; they that go to seek out mixed wine.
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.
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup, when it goeth down smoothly.
32 In the end it bites like a serpent, it stings like a snake.
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33 You'll hallucinate, seeing strange things, and your confused mind will make you say all kinds of craziness.
Thine eyes shall behold strange things, and thine heart shall utter froward 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,
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 “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 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.
