Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, thou shalt 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 And shalt put a knife to thy throat, if, of great appetite, thou art:
[Even] if you (have a big appetite/want to eat a lot of food), restrain yourself.
3 Do not crave his dainties, for, the same, are deceitful food.
Do not want to eat [a lot of] his fine food, because he may be trying to trick you.
4 Do not toil to get wealth, of thine own understanding, forbear:
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 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.
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 Do not eat the food of him that hath a begrudging eye, neither crave thou his dainties;
[If] someone who is stingy [invites you to a meal], do not eat [a lot of] his fine food,
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.
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 As for thy morsel thou hast eaten, thou shalt vomit it, so shalt thou waste thy things so sweet.
[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 In the ears of a dullard, do not speak, for he will despise the good sense 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 Do not move back the ancient boundary, and, into the fields of the fatherless, do not enter;
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 near of kin, is strong, he, will plead their cause with 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 Bring, to correction, thy heart, and thine ears, to the sayings of knowledge.
Pay attention to what [your teachers] teach you, and try to learn from the wise things that they say.
13 Do not withhold, from a child, correction, When thou smitest him with the rod, he shall 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 So shall my reins exult, when thy lips speak the things that are right.
I [SYN] will rejoice when I hear you [SYN] say what is right/wise.
17 Let not thy heart be envious of sinners, only of the reverence of Yahweh, all day long;
Do not envy sinful people; instead, revere Yahweh all of your life.
18 For surely there is a future, 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 lead forward, in duty, thy heart.
My son/child, listen carefully to me and become wise, and think about (all that you do/your behavior).
20 Do not be among them who tipple with wine, —among them who are gluttons;
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 tippler and the glutton, shall come to poverty, and, rags, shall Slumber put on!
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 here, who begat thee, and despise not, when she is old, thy mother.
Pay attention to what your father tells you, and (do not neglect/take care of) [LIT] your mother when she is old.
23 Truth, buy thou, but do not sell, wisdom, and correction, and understanding.
Try to know/learn what is wise, and get good instruction and understanding; and do not throw those things away.
24 Greatly shall exult, the father of a righteous man, and, he that begetteth a wise son, shall rejoice in him:
Righteous [children] will cause their parents to be very happy; those whose children are wise are proud of them.
25 Rejoice shall thy father and thy mother, yea she, shall exult, who bare thee.
[Do what will] cause your father to be glad and enable your mother [also] to be happy.
26 Oh give, my son, thy mind unto me, 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 deep chasm, is the unchaste woman, and, a narrow pit, the female unknown;
Prostitutes and immoral women [DOU] are [like] [MET] a deep pit or a well [that you may fall into].
28 Yea, she, as for prey, lieth in wait, and, the treacherous among mankind, she causeth to abound.
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 outcry of pain? Who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? Who hath needless wounds? Who hath dullness 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 who tarry over wine, they who go in to search for mixed wine.
[It is] those who drink a lot of wine, who try drinking other kinds of strong drinks.
31 Do not look on wine when it becometh red, when it giveth in the cup its sparkle, glideth 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 Its after effect, is that, like a serpent, it biteth, and, like a viper, it doth sting.
because the next morning [you will feel like] you have been bitten by a poisonous snake [DOU].
33 Thine eyes, will see strange women, and, thy heart, will speak 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 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:
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 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!
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?”
