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, Thou considerest diligently that which [is] before thee,
2 and cut down if you have a big appetite.
And thou hast put a knife to thy throat, If thou [art] a man of appetite.
3 Don't be greedy for his fancy food, for it's offered with deceptive motives.
Have no desire to his dainties, seeing it [is] lying food.
4 Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich—be wise enough not to bother!
Labour not to make wealth, From thine own understanding cease, Dost thou cause thine eyes to fly upon it? Then it is not.
5 It disappears in the blink of an eye, suddenly growing wings and flying off into the sky like an eagle.
For wealth maketh to itself wings, As an eagle it flieth to the heavens.
6 Don't accept meal invitations from miserly people; don't be greedy for their fancy food,
Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to 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 hath thought in his soul, so [is] he, 'Eat and drink,' saith he to thee, And 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 thou hast eaten thou dost vomit up, And hast marred thy words that [are] sweet.
9 Don't talk to stupid people because they'll ridicule your wise words.
In the ears of a fool speak not, For he treadeth on the wisdom of thy words.
10 Don't move ancient boundary markers, and don't encroach on fields belonging to orphans,
Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,
11 for their Protector is powerful and he will plead their case against you.
For their Redeemer [is] strong, He doth plead their cause with thee.
12 Focus your mind on instruction; listen intently to words of knowledge.
Bring in to instruction thy heart, And thine ear to sayings of knowledge.
13 Don't keep from disciplining your children—a beating won't kill them.
Withhold not from a youth chastisement, When thou smitest him with a rod he dieth not.
Thou with a rod smitest him, And his soul from Sheol thou deliverest. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if you think wisely then I'll be happy;
My son, if thy heart hath been wise, My heart rejoiceth, even mine,
16 I'll be delighted when you say what's right.
And my reins exult when thy lips speak uprightly.
17 Don't think enviously of sinners, but always remember to honor the Lord,
Let not thy heart be envious at sinners, But — in the fear of Jehovah all the day.
18 for there's definitely a future for you, and your hope will not be crushed.
For, is there a posterity? Then thy hope is not 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 make happy in the way thy heart,
20 Don't join in with people who drink too much wine or who stuff themselves with meat.
Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones 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 quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.
22 Pay attention to your father, and don't disregard your mother when she's old.
Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old.
23 Invest in truth—and don't sell it! Invest in wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
Truth buy, and sell not, 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 rejoiceth greatly, The begetter of the wise rejoiceth in him.
25 Make your father and mother happy; bring joy to her who gave birth to you.
Rejoice doth thy father and thy mother, Yea, she that bare thee is joyful.
26 My son, give me your undivided attention, and cheerfully follow my example.
Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine 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 strait pit.
28 Like a robber, she lies in wait ready to ambush men and make more of them unfaithful to their wives.
She also, as catching prey, lieth in wait, And the treacherous among men she increaseth.
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 plaint? 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.
Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search 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.
See not wine when it showeth itself red, When it giveth in the cup its colour, It goeth up and down through the upright.
32 In the end it bites like a serpent, it stings like a snake.
Its latter end — as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth.
33 You'll hallucinate, seeing strange things, and your confused mind will make you say all kinds of craziness.
Thine eyes see strange women, And thy heart speaketh 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 hast been as one lying down in the heart of the sea, And as one lying down 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, I have not been sick, They beat me, I have not known. When I awake — I seek it yet again!'
