Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, thou shalt consider well, what is before thee;
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
2 And shalt put a knife to thy throat, if, of great appetite, thou art:
For thou puttest a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man of a craving desire.
3 Do not crave his dainties, for, the same, are deceitful food.
Do not long for his savory meats; they are deceitful food.
4 Do not toil to get wealth, of thine own understanding, forbear:
Fatigue thyself not to become rich; because thou hast understanding, forbear.
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.
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.
6 Do not eat the food of him that hath a begrudging eye, neither crave thou his dainties;
Eat not the bread of a man with an evil eye, and do not long for his savory meats;
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.
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.
8 As for thy morsel thou hast eaten, thou shalt vomit it, so shalt thou waste thy things so sweet.
Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou spit out, and thou hast wasted thy pleasant words.
9 In the ears of a dullard, do not speak, for he will despise the good sense of thy words.
Speak not before the ears of a fool; for he will despise the intelligence of thy words.
10 Do not move back the ancient boundary, and, into the fields of the fatherless, do not enter;
Remove not the ancient landmark, and into the fields of the fatherless must thou not enter;
11 For, their near of kin, is strong, he, will plead their cause with thee.
For their redeemer is strong; he will indeed plead their cause with thee.
12 Bring, to correction, thy heart, and thine ears, to the sayings of knowledge.
Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thy ears to the sayings of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold, from a child, correction, When thou smitest him with the rod, he shall not die:
Withhold not from a lad correction; for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Thou wilt indeed beat him with the rod; but thou wilt deliver his soul from perdition. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son! if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
My son, If thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16 So shall my reins exult, when thy lips speak the things that are right.
And my reins shall exult when thy lips speak what is equitable.
17 Let not thy heart be envious of sinners, only of the reverence of Yahweh, all day long;
Let not thy heart be envious against sinners; but [remain] in the fear of the lord all the time.
18 For surely there is a future, and, thine expectation, shall not be cut off.
For surely there is a future, and thy hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear, thou, my son, and be wise, and lead forward, in duty, thy heart.
Hear thou, my son, and become wise, and guide thy heart on the right way.
20 Do not be among them who tipple with wine, —among them who are gluttons;
Be not among those that drink wine immoderately, among those that over-indulge in eating flesh:
21 For, the tippler and the glutton, shall come to poverty, and, rags, shall Slumber put on!
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth a man in rags.
22 Hearken to thy father here, who begat thee, and despise not, when she is old, thy mother.
Hearken unto thy father that hath begotten thee, and despise not thy mother although she be old.
23 Truth, buy thou, but do not sell, wisdom, and correction, and understanding.
Buy the truth and sell it not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 Greatly shall exult, the father of a righteous man, and, he that begetteth a wise son, shall rejoice in him:
The father of the righteous will be greatly glad, and he that begetteth a wise child will have joy through him.
25 Rejoice shall thy father and thy mother, yea she, shall exult, who bare thee.
Let [then] thy father and thy mother rejoice, and let her that hath born thee be glad.
26 Oh give, my son, thy mind unto me, and let, thine eyes, observe, my ways;
Give, my son, thy heart unto me, and let thy eyes watch my ways.
27 For, a deep chasm, is the unchaste woman, and, a narrow pit, the female unknown;
For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow well.
28 Yea, she, as for prey, lieth in wait, and, the treacherous among mankind, she causeth to abound.
She also lieth in wait like a robber, and she increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 Who hath woe? Who hath outcry of pain? Who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? Who hath needless wounds? Who hath dullness of eyes?
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath quarrels? who hath complaints? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 They who tarry over wine, they who go in to search for mixed wine.
They that tarry late over the wine: they that come to seek for mixed drink.
31 Do not look on wine when it becometh red, when it giveth in the cup its sparkle, glideth down smoothly.
Do not look on the wine when it looketh red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it glideth down so readily.
32 Its after effect, is that, like a serpent, it biteth, and, like a viper, it doth sting.
At the last it will bite like a serpent, and like a basilisk will it sting.
33 Thine eyes, will see strange women, and, thy heart, will speak perverse things:
Thy eyes will see strange forms, and thy heart will speak perverse things.
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:
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.
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!
“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.”
