Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat 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 For thou puttest a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man of a craving desire.
and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
3 Do not long for his savory meats; they are deceitful food.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4 Fatigue thyself not to become rich; because thou hast understanding, forbear.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5 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.
When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
6 Eat not the bread of a man with an evil eye, and do not long for his savory meats;
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
7 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.
for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou spit out, and thou hast wasted thy pleasant words.
You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9 Speak not before the ears of a fool; for he will despise the intelligence of thy words.
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark, and into the fields of the fatherless must thou not enter;
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 For their redeemer is strong; he will indeed plead their cause with thee.
for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
12 Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thy ears to the sayings of knowledge.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not from a lad correction; for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14 Thou wilt indeed beat him with the rod; but thou wilt deliver his soul from perdition. (Sheol h7585)
Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, If thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
16 And my reins shall exult when thy lips speak what is equitable.
My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Let not thy heart be envious against sinners; but [remain] in the fear of the lord all the time.
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
18 For surely there is a future, and thy hope will not be cut off.
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and become wise, and guide thy heart on the right way.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
20 Be not among those that drink wine immoderately, among those that over-indulge in eating flesh:
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth a man in rags.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
22 Hearken unto thy father that hath begotten thee, and despise not thy mother although she be old.
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth and sell it not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Invest in truth and never sell it— in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will be greatly glad, and he that begetteth a wise child will have joy through him.
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
25 Let [then] thy father and thy mother rejoice, and let her that hath born thee be glad.
May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
26 Give, my son, thy heart unto me, and let thy eyes watch my ways.
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow well.
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
28 She also lieth in wait like a robber, and she increaseth the treacherous among men.
Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath quarrels? who hath complaints? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 They that tarry late over the wine: they that come to seek for mixed drink.
Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
31 Do not look on the wine when it looketh red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it glideth down so readily.
Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
32 At the last it will bite like a serpent, and like a basilisk will it sting.
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
33 Thy eyes will see strange forms, and thy heart will speak perverse things.
Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
34 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.
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast:
35 “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.”
“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?”
