Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Thou considerest diligently that which [is] before thee,
2 For thou puttest a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man of a craving desire.
And thou hast put a knife to thy throat, If thou [art] a man of appetite.
3 Do not long for his savory meats; they are deceitful food.
Have no desire to his dainties, seeing it [is] lying food.
4 Fatigue thyself not to become rich; because thou hast understanding, forbear.
Labour not to make wealth, From thine own understanding cease, Dost thou cause thine eyes to fly upon it? Then it is not.
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.
For wealth maketh to itself wings, As an eagle it flieth to the heavens.
6 Eat not the bread of a man with an evil eye, and do not long for his savory meats;
Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to his dainties,
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 he hath thought in his soul, so [is] he, 'Eat and drink,' saith he to thee, And his heart [is] not with thee.
8 Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou spit out, and thou hast wasted thy pleasant words.
Thy morsel thou hast eaten thou dost vomit up, And hast marred thy words that [are] sweet.
9 Speak not before the ears of a fool; for he will despise the intelligence of thy words.
In the ears of a fool speak not, For he treadeth on the wisdom of thy words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark, and into the fields of the fatherless must thou not enter;
Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,
11 For their redeemer is strong; he will indeed plead their cause with thee.
For their Redeemer [is] strong, He doth plead their cause with thee.
12 Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thy ears to the sayings of knowledge.
Bring in to instruction thy heart, And thine ear to sayings of knowledge.
13 Withhold not from a lad correction; for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Withhold not from a youth chastisement, When thou smitest him with a rod he dieth not.
14 Thou wilt indeed beat him with the rod; but thou wilt deliver his soul from perdition. (Sheol h7585)
Thou with a rod smitest him, And his soul from Sheol thou deliverest. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, If thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
My son, if thy heart hath been wise, My heart rejoiceth, even mine,
16 And my reins shall exult when thy lips speak what is equitable.
And my reins exult when thy lips speak uprightly.
17 Let not thy heart be envious against sinners; but [remain] in the fear of the lord all the time.
Let not thy heart be envious at sinners, But — in the fear of Jehovah all the day.
18 For surely there is a future, and thy hope will not be cut off.
For, is there a posterity? Then thy hope is not cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and become wise, and guide thy heart on the right way.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And make happy in the way thy heart,
20 Be not among those that drink wine immoderately, among those that over-indulge in eating flesh:
Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones of flesh,
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth a man in rags.
For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.
22 Hearken unto thy father that hath begotten thee, and despise not thy mother although she be old.
Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old.
23 Buy the truth and sell it not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Truth buy, and sell not, 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 righteous rejoiceth greatly, The begetter of the wise rejoiceth in him.
25 Let [then] thy father and thy mother rejoice, and let her that hath born thee be glad.
Rejoice doth thy father and thy mother, Yea, she that bare thee is joyful.
26 Give, my son, thy heart unto me, and let thy eyes watch my ways.
Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine eyes watch 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 strait pit.
28 She also lieth in wait like a robber, and she increaseth the treacherous among men.
She also, as catching prey, lieth in wait, And the treacherous among men she increaseth.
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? who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? who hath plaint? 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.
Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search out 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.
See not wine when it showeth itself red, When it giveth in the cup its colour, It goeth up and down through the upright.
32 At the last it will bite like a serpent, and like a basilisk will it sting.
Its latter end — as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth.
33 Thy eyes will see strange forms, and thy heart will speak perverse things.
Thine eyes see strange women, And thy heart speaketh 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 hast been as one lying down in the heart of the sea, And as one lying down 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 smote me, I have not been sick, They beat me, I have not known. When I awake — I seek it yet again!'
