Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Consider well what is before thee;
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
2 For thou wilt put a knife to thy throat, If thou art a man given to appetite!
and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
3 Long not for his dainties. For they are deceitful meat.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4 Toil not to become rich; Cease from this, thy wisdom.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5 Wilt thou let thine eyes fly toward them? They are gone! For riches truly make to themselves wings; They fly away like the eagle 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 him that hath an evil eye, And long not for his dainties;
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not 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 he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel, which thou hast eaten, thou shalt vomit up; And thou wilt have thrown away thy sweet words.
You will vomit up what little 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.
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark, And enter not into the fields of the fatherless!
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 For their avenger is mighty; He will maintain their cause against thee.
for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
12 Apply thy heart to instruction, And thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from a child; 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.
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 Yea, my reins shall exult, When thy lips speak right things.
My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners, But continue thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long;
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
18 For surely there shall be a reward, And thine expectation shall not be cut off.
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise; And let thy heart go forward in the way!
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
20 Be not thou among winebibbers, And riotous eaters of flesh;
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
22 Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she is 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; Buy wisdom and instruction and understanding.
Invest in truth and never sell it— in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 The father of a righteous man shall greatly rejoice; Yea, he who begetteth a wise child shall have joy in him.
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
25 Let thy father and thy mother have joy; Yea, let her that bore thee rejoice!
May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
26 My son, give me thy heart, And let thine eyes observe my ways!
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch; Yea, a strange woman is a narrow pit.
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
28 Like a robber she lieth in wait, And 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 contentions? Who anxiety? Who wounds without cause? Who dimness 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 long at the wine; They that go in to seek mixed wine.
Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, When it sparkleth in the cup, When it goeth down smoothly.
Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and 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 stings like a viper.
33 Thine eyes will look upon strange women, And thy heart will utter perverse things.
Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
34 Yea, thou shalt be as one that lieth down in the midst of the sea, And as one that lieth down upon 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 have stricken me [[shalt thou say]], —I suffered no pain! They have beaten me, —I felt it not! When shall I awake? I will seek it yet 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?”
