Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Consider well what is before thee;
When you sit down to eat a meal with a (government official/king), think carefully about what (OR, who) is in front of you.
2 For thou wilt put a knife to thy throat, If thou art a man given to appetite!
[Even] if you (have a big appetite/want to eat a lot of food), restrain yourself.
3 Long not for his dainties. For they are deceitful meat.
Do not want to eat [a lot of] his fine food, because he may be trying to trick you.
4 Toil not to become rich; Cease from this, thy wisdom.
Do not [cause yourself to become very tired by] working very hard to become rich; be wise and stop doing that,
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.
because as soon as you look [MTY] at [all the money that you have acquired], it will be gone; it will [disappear as if it] suddenly grew wings [SIM] and flew up into the sky like an eagle.
6 Eat not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, And long not for his dainties;
[If] someone who is stingy [invites you to a meal], do not eat [a lot of] his fine food,
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.
because he will be thinking about how much [the food cost that you are eating]. He [will] say to you, “Eat and drink all that you want!”, but that is not what he [will] really be thinking.
8 The morsel, which thou hast eaten, thou shalt vomit up; And thou wilt have thrown away thy sweet words.
[When you realize what he is really thinking, it will cause you to want to] vomit what you have eaten; and your kind words [telling him that you are enjoying the meal] will be wasted.
9 Speak not in the ears of a fool; For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
(Do not [waste time by]/It is useless) talking to foolish people; they will [only] despise the wise things that you say.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark, And enter not into the fields of the fatherless!
Do not [steal someone’s property by] removing a boundary marker that has been there for a long time, and do not take for yourself the land that belongs to orphans,
11 For their avenger is mighty; He will maintain their cause against thee.
because Yahweh is strong, and he is [like] a relative that has the responsibility to defend them, he will [stand up in court and] argue for them and against you.
12 Apply thy heart to instruction, And thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Pay attention to what [your teachers] teach you, and try to learn from the wise things that they say.
13 Withhold not correction from a child; If thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Do not refuse to discipline your children; if you punish/spank them, it will not cause them to die,
and it may save them from [going to] the place where dead people are. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thy heart be wise, My heart shall rejoice, even mine;
My son/child, if you [SYN] become wise, I [SYN] will be very happy.
16 Yea, my reins shall exult, When thy lips speak right things.
I [SYN] will rejoice when I hear you [SYN] say what is right/wise.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners, But continue thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long;
Do not envy sinful people; instead, revere Yahweh all of your life.
18 For surely there shall be a reward, And thine expectation shall not be cut off.
[If you do that], you will be happy in the future, and [God] will certainly [do for you what you are] confidently expecting him to do.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise; And let thy heart go forward in the way!
My son/child, listen carefully to me and become wise, and think about (all that you do/your behavior).
20 Be not thou among winebibbers, And riotous eaters of flesh;
Do not associate with those who drink a lot of (wine/strong drink) or with those who (are gluttons/eat more than they should),
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
because drunkards and gluttons will become poor; and if all that you do is eat and sleep, you will [soon] (be wearing rags/not have any money to buy clothes).
22 Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she is old.
Pay attention to what your father tells you, and (do not neglect/take care of) [LIT] your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; Buy wisdom and instruction and understanding.
Try to know/learn what is wise, and get good instruction and understanding; and do not throw those things away.
24 The father of a righteous man shall greatly rejoice; Yea, he who begetteth a wise child shall have joy in him.
Righteous [children] will cause their parents to be very happy; those whose children are wise are proud of them.
25 Let thy father and thy mother have joy; Yea, let her that bore thee rejoice!
[Do what will] cause your father to be glad and enable your mother [also] to be happy.
26 My son, give me thy heart, And let thine eyes observe my ways!
My son, heed what I say to you, and allow what I do to be an example for you.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch; Yea, a strange woman is a narrow pit.
Prostitutes and immoral women [DOU] are [like] [MET] a deep pit or a well [that you may fall into].
28 Like a robber she lieth in wait, And increaseth the treacherous among men.
They wait [for you] like robbers [SIM], and they cause many men to (be unfaithful to/have sex with women who are not) their wives.
29 Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who contentions? Who anxiety? Who wounds without cause? Who dimness of eyes?
I will tell you [RHQ] what kind of people are always miserable and sad. I will tell you [RHQ] which people are always causing arguments/quarrels and who are always complaining. I will tell you [RHQ] who are injured in fights and whose eyes are always red/bloodshot.
30 They that tarry long at the wine; They that go in to seek mixed wine.
[It is] those who drink a lot of wine, who try drinking other kinds of strong 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 look with pleasure at red wine that looks nice, and which sparkles when it is [poured out] into cups, and which tastes good as you drink it,
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, And stingeth like an adder.
because the next morning [you will feel like] you have been bitten by a poisonous snake [DOU].
33 Thine eyes will look upon strange women, And thy heart will utter perverse things.
You [SYN] will [think that you are] seeing strange/weird things, and you [SYN] will not be able to think clearly or speak clearly.
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 think you are in a ship that is tossing on the sea; you be like [SIM] someone who is trying to sleep when the ship is rolling from one side to the other.
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.
You will say, “[I think that] someone struck me, but he did not hurt me; he hit me, but I did not feel it. When will I (wake up/feel normal again) in order that I can drink some more wine?”
