Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
When you take your seat at the feast with a ruler, give thought with care to what is 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 have a strong desire for food.
3 Do not long for his savory meats; they are deceitful food.
Have no desire for his delicate food, for it is the bread of deceit.
4 Fatigue thyself not to become rich; because thou hast understanding, forbear.
Take no care to get wealth; let there be an end to your desire for money.
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.
Are your eyes lifted up to it? it is gone: for wealth takes to itself wings, like an eagle in flight up to heaven.
6 Eat not the bread of a man with an evil eye, and do not long for his savory meats;
Do not take the food of him who has an evil eye, or have any desire for his delicate meat:
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 as the thoughts of his heart are, so is he: Take food 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.
The food which you have taken will come up again, and your pleasing words will be wasted.
9 Speak not before the ears of a fool; for he will despise the intelligence of thy words.
Say nothing in the hearing of a foolish man, for he will put no value on the wisdom of your words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark, and into the fields of the fatherless must thou not enter;
Do not let the landmark of the widow be moved, and do not go into the fields of those who have no father;
11 For their redeemer is strong; he will indeed plead their cause with thee.
For their saviour is strong, and he will take up their cause against you.
12 Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thy ears to the sayings of knowledge.
Give your heart to teaching, and your ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not from a lad correction; for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Do not keep back training from the child: for even if you give him blows with the rod, it will not be death to him.
14 Thou wilt indeed beat him with the rod; but thou wilt deliver his soul from perdition. (Sheol h7585)
Give him blows with the rod, and keep his soul safe from the underworld. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, If thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
My son, if your heart becomes wise, I, even I, will be glad in heart;
16 And my reins shall exult when thy lips speak what is equitable.
And my thoughts in me will be full of joy when your lips say right things.
17 Let not thy heart be envious against sinners; but [remain] in the fear of the lord all the time.
Have no envy of sinners in your heart, but keep in the fear of the Lord all through the day;
18 For surely there is a future, and thy hope will not be cut off.
For without doubt 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.
Give ear, my son, and be wise, guiding your heart in the right way.
20 Be not among those that drink wine immoderately, among those that over-indulge in eating flesh:
Do not be among those who give themselves to wine-drinking, or among those who make themselves full with meat:
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth a man in rags.
For those who take delight in drink and feasting will come to be in need; and through love of sleep a man will be poorly clothed.
22 Hearken unto thy father that hath begotten thee, and despise not thy mother although she be old.
Give ear to your father whose child you are, and do not keep honour from your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth and sell it not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Get for yourself that which is true, and do not let it go for money; get wisdom and teaching and good sense.
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 the upright man will be glad, and he who has a wise child will have joy because of him.
25 Let [then] thy father and thy mother rejoice, and let her that hath born thee be glad.
Let your father and your mother be glad, let her who gave you birth have joy.
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 take delight in my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow well.
For a loose woman is a deep hollow, and a strange woman is a narrow water-hole.
28 She also lieth in wait like a robber, and she increaseth the treacherous among men.
Yes, she is waiting secretly like a beast for its food, and deceit by her is increased 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 says, Oh! who says, Ah! who has violent arguments, who has grief, who has wounds without cause, whose eyes are dark?
30 They that tarry late over the wine: they that come to seek for mixed drink.
Those who are seated late over the wine: those who go looking for mixed wine.
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.
Keep your eyes from looking on the wine when it is red, when its colour is bright in the cup, when it goes smoothly down:
32 At the last it will bite like a serpent, and like a basilisk will it sting.
In the end, its bite is like that of a snake, its wound like the wound of a poison-snake.
33 Thy eyes will see strange forms, and thy heart will speak perverse things.
Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say twisted things.
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.
Yes, you will be like him who takes his rest on the sea, or on the top of a sail-support.
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 have overcome me, you will say, and I have no pain; they gave me blows without my feeling them: when will I be awake from my wine? I will go after it again.
