Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, thou shalt consider well, what is before thee;
幾時你與首長坐席，應記著，在你面前的是誰。
2 And shalt put a knife to thy throat, if, of great appetite, thou art:
你若過於貪食，應在咽喉上，放上一把刀。
3 Do not crave his dainties, for, the same, are deceitful food.
休要羨慕他的珍饈，因那是騙人的食品。
4 Do not toil to get wealth, of thine own understanding, forbear:
不要辛苦企求致富，反應放棄這種企圖。
5 Wilt thou let thine eye fly thereupon, when it is nothing? for it will, surely make, itself wings, Like an eagle, will it wing its way across the heavens.
你向之一注目，即不再存在了：它會生出翅膀，如鷹向天飛去。
6 Do not eat the food of him that hath a begrudging eye, neither crave thou his dainties;
不要與虎視眈眈的人進食，也不要羨慕他的山珍海味，
7 For, just as he hath thought in his own mind, so, he is: Eat and drink! he may say to thee, but, his heart, is not with thee.
因為他原是只顧自己的人，他口頭雖對你說「請吃請喝! 」但他的心中並不與你友善；
8 As for thy morsel thou hast eaten, thou shalt vomit it, so shalt thou waste thy things so sweet.
你吃下的那口食物，還得吐出；你婉轉悅耳的言辭，盡屬枉費。
9 In the ears of a dullard, do not speak, for he will despise the good sense of thy words.
不要與愚人交耳接談，因他必輕視你的高見。
10 Do not move back the ancient boundary, and, into the fields of the fatherless, do not enter;
不要移動孀婦的地界，不要侵佔孤兒的田地；
11 For, their near of kin, is strong, he, will plead their cause with thee.
因為他們的辯護者是大能的，他必為他們的案件與你爭辯。
12 Bring, to correction, thy heart, and thine ears, to the sayings of knowledge.
你應專心接受教訓，傾耳細聽益智之言。
13 Do not withhold, from a child, correction, When thou smitest him with the rod, he shall not die:
對孩童不可忽略懲戒；用棍打他，他不致死去。
你用棍杖打他，是救他的靈魂免下陰府。 (Sheol h7585)
15 My son! if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
我兒，你若心懷智慧，我也誠心喜樂；
16 So shall my reins exult, when thy lips speak the things that are right.
你的唇舌若談吐正義的事，我的五衷也必會踴躍歡欣。
17 Let not thy heart be envious of sinners, only of the reverence of Yahweh, all day long;
心裏不要羨慕罪人，卻要日日敬畏上主；
18 For surely there is a future, and, thine expectation, shall not be cut off.
這樣你的將來必然順利，你的希望絕不落空。
19 Hear, thou, my son, and be wise, and lead forward, in duty, thy heart.
我兒，你要聽話，作個明智人；且要引領你的心走上正道。
20 Do not be among them who tipple with wine, —among them who are gluttons;
貪嗜酒肉的人，不可與之來往；
21 For, the tippler and the glutton, shall come to poverty, and, rags, shall Slumber put on!
因為嗜酒貪食的人，必陷於窮困；貪懶好睡的人，必衣著襤褸。
22 Hearken to thy father here, who begat thee, and despise not, when she is old, thy mother.
對生養你的父親，應當聽從；對你年邁的母親，不可輕視。
23 Truth, buy thou, but do not sell, wisdom, and correction, and understanding.
應獲取真理，不可出賣，還有智慧、訓誨和見識。
24 Greatly shall exult, the father of a righteous man, and, he that begetteth a wise son, shall rejoice in him:
義人的父親，必欣然喜樂；生育慧子的，必為此歡騰。
25 Rejoice shall thy father and thy mother, yea she, shall exult, who bare thee.
應使你的父親因你而喜悅，應使你的生母因你而快樂。
26 Oh give, my son, thy mind unto me, and let, thine eyes, observe, my ways;
我兒，將你的心交給我，注目於我的道路：
27 For, a deep chasm, is the unchaste woman, and, a narrow pit, the female unknown;
妓女是一個深坑，淫婦是一個陷阱；
28 Yea, she, as for prey, lieth in wait, and, the treacherous among mankind, she causeth to abound.
她潛伏著，實如強盜，使人世間，增添奸夫。
29 Who hath woe? Who hath outcry of pain? Who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? Who hath needless wounds? Who hath dullness of eyes?
是誰將哀鳴，是誰將悲嘆﹖是誰將爭吵，是誰將抱怨﹖是誰將無故受傷，是誰將雙目赤紅﹖
30 They who tarry over wine, they who go in to search for mixed wine.
是那流連於醉鄉，去搜求醇酒的人。
31 Do not look on wine when it becometh red, when it giveth in the cup its sparkle, glideth down smoothly.
你不要注視酒色怎樣紅，在杯中怎樣閃耀，飲下去怎樣痛快!
32 Its after effect, is that, like a serpent, it biteth, and, like a viper, it doth sting.
終究它要咬人如蛇，刺人如虺。
33 Thine eyes, will see strange women, and, thy heart, will speak perverse things:
那時，你的眼要見到奇景，你的心要吐出狂語。
34 So shalt thou become, as one lying down in the heart of the sea, —or as one lying down on the top of the mastgear:
你宛如躺在海中心，睡在桅杆頂。「
35 They smote me—I felt no pain, They struck me down—I noticed it not, —When shall I wake up? I will go on, I will seek it, again!
人打我，我不痛，人捶我，我不覺；我何時甦醒，好再去尋醉! 」
