Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.
2 For thou puttest a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man of a craving desire.
And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.
3 Do not long for his savory meats; they are deceitful food.
Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.
4 Fatigue thyself not to become rich; because thou hast understanding, forbear.
Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.
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.
Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven.
6 Eat not the bread of a man with an evil eye, and do not long for his savory meats;
Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
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.
Because like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee.
8 Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou spit out, and thou hast wasted thy pleasant words.
The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.
9 Speak not before the ears of a fool; for he will despise the intelligence of thy words.
Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark, and into the fields of the fatherless must thou not enter;
Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:
11 For their redeemer is strong; he will indeed plead their cause with thee.
For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.
12 Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thy ears to the sayings of knowledge.
Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not from a lad correction; for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.
14 Thou wilt indeed beat him with the rod; but thou wilt deliver his soul from perdition. (Sheol h7585)
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, If thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:
16 And my reins shall exult when thy lips speak what is equitable.
And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.
17 Let not thy heart be envious against sinners; but [remain] in the fear of the lord all the time.
Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:
18 For surely there is a future, and thy hope will not be cut off.
Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.
19 Hear thou, my son, and become wise, and guide thy heart on the right way.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.
20 Be not among those that drink wine immoderately, among those that over-indulge in eating flesh:
Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth a man in rags.
Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
22 Hearken unto thy father that hath begotten thee, and despise not thy mother although she be old.
Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth and sell it not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Buy truth, and do not sell 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 the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.
25 Let [then] thy father and thy mother rejoice, and let her that hath born thee be glad.
Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.
26 Give, my son, thy heart unto me, and let thy eyes watch my ways.
My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow well.
For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28 She also lieth in wait like a robber, and she increaseth the treacherous among men.
She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath quarrels? who hath complaints? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 They that tarry late over the wine: they that come to seek for mixed drink.
Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.
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.
Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,
32 At the last it will bite like a serpent, and like a basilisk will it sting.
But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.
33 Thy eyes will see strange forms, and thy heart will speak perverse things.
Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse 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.
And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost.
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.”
And thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake, and find wine again?
