Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what [is] before thee:
When you sit to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before you;
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou [be] a man given to appetite.
put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties: for they [are] deceitful meat.
Don’t be desirous of his dainties, since they are deceitful food.
4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
Don’t weary yourself to be rich. In your wisdom, show restraint.
5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for [riches] certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Why do you set your eyes on that which is not? For it certainly sprouts wings like an eagle and flies in the sky.
6 Eat thou not the bread of [him that hath] an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
Don’t eat the food of him who has a stingy eye, and don’t crave his delicacies,
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart [is] not with thee.
for as he thinks about the cost, so he is. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel [which] thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
You will vomit up the morsel which you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
Don’t speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
Don’t move the ancient boundary stone. Don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 For their redeemer [is] mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.
for their Defender is strong. He will plead their case against you.
12 Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the child: for [if] thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Don’t withhold correction from a child. If you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
Punish him with the rod, and save his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad, even mine.
16 Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
Yes, my heart will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
Don’t let your heart envy sinners, but rather fear the LORD all day long.
18 For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
Indeed surely there is a future hope, and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path!
20 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
Don’t be among ones drinking too much wine, or those who gorge themselves on meat;
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe [a man] with rags.
for the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Listen to your father who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and sell [it] not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Buy the truth, and don’t sell it. Get wisdom, discipline, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise [child] shall have joy of him.
The father of the righteous has great joy. Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him.
25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
Let your father and your mother be glad! Let her who bore you rejoice!
26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
My son, give me your heart; and let your eyes keep in my ways.
27 For a whore [is] a deep ditch; and a strange woman [is] a narrow pit.
For a prostitute is a deep pit; and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 She also lieth in wait as [for] a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
Yes, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men.
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
Those who stay long at the wine; those who go to seek out mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, [when] it moveth itself aright.
Don’t look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly.
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
In the end, it bites like a snake, and poisons like a viper.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 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.
Yes, you will be as he who lies down in the middle of the sea, or as he who lies on top of the rigging:
35 They have stricken me, [shalt thou say, and] I was not sick; they have beaten me, [and] I felt [it] not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
“They hit me, and I was not hurt! They beat me, and I don’t feel it! When will I wake up? I can do it again. I will look for more.”
