Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently him that is before thee;
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Thou considerest diligently that which [is] before thee,
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
And thou hast put a knife to thy throat, If thou [art] a man of appetite.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties; seeing they are deceitful meat.
Have no desire to his dainties, seeing it [is] lying food.
4 Weary not thyself to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom.
Labour not to make wealth, From thine own understanding cease, Dost thou cause thine eyes to fly upon it? Then it is not.
5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for [riches] certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
For wealth maketh to itself wings, As an eagle it flieth to the heavens.
6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties:
Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to his dainties,
7 For as he reckoneth within himself, so is he: 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 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
Thy morsel thou hast eaten thou dost vomit up, And hast marred thy words that [are] sweet.
9 Speak not in the hearing of a fool; for he will despise the wisdom 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 enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,
11 For their redeemer is strong; he shall plead their cause against thee.
For their Redeemer [is] strong, He doth plead their cause with thee.
12 Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Bring in to instruction thy heart, And thine ear to sayings of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the child: [for] if thou beat him with the rod, he shall not die.
Withhold not from a youth chastisement, When thou smitest him with a rod he dieth not.
Thou with a rod smitest him, And his soul from Sheol thou deliverest. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall be glad, even mine:
My son, if thy heart hath been wise, My heart rejoiceth, even mine,
16 Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
And my reins exult when thy lips speak uprightly.
17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the fear of the LORD all the day long:
Let not thy heart be envious at sinners, But — in the fear of Jehovah all the day.
18 For surely there is a reward; and thy hope shall not be cut off.
For, is there a posterity? Then thy hope is not cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And make happy in the way thy heart,
20 Be not among winebibbers; among gluttonous eaters of flesh:
Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones of flesh,
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe [a man] with rags.
For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.
22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is 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; [yea], wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Truth buy, and sell not, Wisdom, and instruction, and understanding,
24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
The father of the righteous rejoiceth greatly, The begetter of the wise rejoiceth in him.
25 Let thy father and thy mother be glad, and let her that bare thee rejoice.
Rejoice doth thy father and thy mother, Yea, she that bare thee is joyful.
26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes delight in my ways.
Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine eyes watch my ways.
27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
For a harlot [is] a deep ditch, And a strange woman [is] a strait pit.
28 Yea, she lieth in wait as a robber, and 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 contentions? who hath complaining? 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 long at the wine; they that go to seek out mixed wine.
Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search out mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup, when it goeth down smoothly.
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 biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Its latter end — as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange things, and thine heart shall utter froward things.
Thine eyes see strange women, And thy heart speaketh perverse things.
34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon 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 have stricken me, [shalt thou say], and I was not hurt; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
'They smote me, I have not been sick, They beat me, I have not known. When I awake — I seek it yet again!'
