< Proverbs 23 >

1 When thou sittest to eate with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee,
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
2 And put the knife to thy throte, if thou be a man giuen to the appetite.
and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
3 Be not desirous of his deintie meates: for it is a deceiuable meate.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4 Trauaile not too much to be rich: but cease from thy wisdome.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5 Wilt thou cast thine eyes vpon it, which is nothing? for riches taketh her to her wings, as an eagle, and flyeth into the heauen.
When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
6 Eate thou not the bread of him that hath an euil eye, neither desire his deintie meates.
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
7 For as though he thought it in his heart, so will hee say vnto thee, Eate and drinke: but his heart is not with thee.
for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 Thou shalt vomit thy morsels that thou hast eaten, and thou shalt lose thy sweete wordes.
You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9 Speake not in the eares of a foole: for hee will despise the wisdome of thy wordes.
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Remooue not the ancient boundes, and enter not into the fieldes of the fatherlesse.
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 For he that redeemeth them, is mightie: he will defend their cause against thee.
for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
12 Apply thine heart to instruction, and thine eares to the wordes of knowledge.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the childe: if thou smite him with the rodde, he shall not die.
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14 Thou shalt smite him with the rodde, and shalt deliuer his soule from hell. (Sheol h7585)
Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 My sonne, if thine heart be wise, mine heart shall reioyce, and I also.
My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
16 And my reynes shall reioyce, when thy lips speake righteous things.
My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Let not thine heart bee enuious against sinners: but let it bee in the feare of the Lord continually.
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
18 For surely there is an ende, and thy hope shall not be cut off.
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
19 O thou my sonne, heare, and bee wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
20 Keepe not company with drunkards, nor with gluttons.
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall bee poore, and the sleeper shalbe clothed with ragges.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
22 Obey thy father that hath begotten thee, and despise not thy mother when she is olde.
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Bye the trueth, but sell it not: likewise wisdome, and instruction, and vnderstanding.
Invest in truth and never sell it— in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous shall greatly reioyce, and hee that begetteth a wise childe, shall haue ioy of him.
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall reioyce.
May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
26 My sonne, giue mee thine heart, and let thine eyes delite in my wayes.
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27 For a whore is as a deepe ditche, and a strange woman is as a narrowe pitte.
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
28 Also she lyeth in wait as for a praye, and she increaseth the transgressers among men.
Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.
29 To whome is woe? to whome is sorowe? to whom is strife? to whom is murmuring? to whom are woundes without cause? and to whome is the rednesse of the eyes?
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Euen to them that tarie long at the wine, to them that goe, and seeke mixt wine.
Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
31 Looke not thou vpon the wine, when it is red, and when it sheweth his colour in the cup, or goeth downe pleasantly.
Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
32 In the ende thereof it will bite like a serpent, and hurt like a cockatrise.
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
33 Thine eyes shall looke vpon strange women, and thine heart shall speake lewde things.
Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
34 And thou shalt bee as one that sleepeth in the middes of the sea, and as hee that sleepeth in the toppe of the maste.
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast:
35 They haue stricken mee, shalt thou say, but I was not sicke: they haue beaten mee, but I knew not, when I awoke: therefore will I seeke it yet still.
“They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”

< Proverbs 23 >