Proverbs 23
1 When you sit to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you,
Quando sederis ut comedas cum principe, diligenter attende quae apposita sunt ante faciem tuam:
2 and put a knife to your throat if you are a person who likes to eat a lot of food.
et statue cultrum in gutture tuo, si tamen habes in potestate animam tuam,
3 Do not crave his delicacies, for it is the food of lies.
ne desideres de cibis eius, in quo est panis mendacii.
4 Do not work too hard to gain wealth; be wise enough to know when to stop.
Noli laborare ut diteris: sed prudentiae tuae pone modum.
5 Will you let your eyes light upon it? It will be gone, for it will surely take up wings like an eagle and fly off to the sky.
Ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes, quas non potes habere: quia facient sibi pennas quasi aquilae, et volabunt in caelum.
6 Do not eat the food of one with an evil eye— and do not crave his delicacies,
Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos eius:
7 for he is the kind of man who counts the price of the food. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
quoniam in similitudinem arioli, et coniectoris, aestimat quod ignorat. Comede et bibe, dicet tibi: et mens eius non est tecum.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten and you will have wasted your compliments.
Cibos, quos comederas, evomes: et perdes pulchros sermones tuos.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
In auribus insipientium ne loquaris: qui despicient doctrinam eloquii tui.
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of orphans,
Ne attingas parvulorum terminos: et agrum pupillorum ne introeas:
11 for their Redeemer is strong and he will plead their case against you.
Propinquus enim illorum fortis est: et ipse iudicabit contra te causam illorum.
12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
Ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum: et aures tuae ad verba scientiae.
13 Do not withhold instruction from a child, for if you discipline him, he will not die.
Noli subtrahere a puero disciplinam: si enim percusseris eum virga, non morietur.
Tu virga percuties eum: et animam eius de inferno liberabis. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad;
Fili mi, si sapiens fuerit animus tuus, gaudebit tecum cor meum:
16 my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
et exultabunt renes mei, cum locuta fuerint recta labia tua.
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of Yahweh all the day.
Non aemuletur cor tuum peccatores: sed in timore Domini esto tota die:
18 Surely there is a future and your hope will not be cut off.
quia habebis spem in novissimo, et praestolatio tua non auferetur.
19 Hear—you!—my son, and be wise and direct your heart in the way.
Audi fili mi, et esto sapiens: et dirige in via animum tuum.
20 Do not associate with drunkards, or with gluttonous eaters of meat,
Noli esse in conviviis potatorum, nec in comessationibus eorum, qui carnes ad vescendum conferunt:
21 for the drunkard and the glutton become poor and slumber will clothe them with rags.
quia vacantes potibus, et dantes symbola consumentur, et vestietur pannis dormitatio.
22 Listen to your father who begot you and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Audi patrem tuum, qui genuit te: et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua.
23 Buy the truth, but do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
Veritatem eme, et noli vendere sapientiam, et doctrinam, et intelligentiam.
24 The father of the righteous person will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise child will be glad in him.
Exultat gaudio pater iusti: qui sapientem genuit, laetabitur in eo.
25 Let your father and your mother be glad and let her who bore you rejoice.
Gaudeat pater tuus, et mater tua, et exultet quae genuit te.
26 My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe my ways.
Praebe fili mi cor tuum mihi: et oculi tui vias meas custodiant.
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an immoral woman is a narrow well.
Fovea enim profunda est meretrix: et puteus angustus, aliena.
28 She lies in wait like a robber and she increases the number of the treacherous among humanity.
Insidiatur in via quasi latro, et quos incautos viderit, interficiet.
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has fights? Who has complaining? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has bloodshot eyes?
Cui vae? cuius patri vae? cui rixae? cui foveae? cui sine causa vulnera? cui suffusio oculorum?
30 Those who linger over wine, those who try the mixed wine.
Nonne his, qui commorantur in vino, et student calicibus epotandis?
31 Do not look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit, cum splenduerit in vitro color eius: ingreditur blande,
32 In the last it bites like a serpent and it stings like an adder.
sed in novissimo mordebit ut coluber, et sicut regulus venena diffundet.
33 Your eyes will see strange things and your heart will utter perverse things.
Oculi tui videbunt extraneas, et cor tuum loquetur perversa.
34 You will be as one who sleeps on the high seas or lies on the top of a mast.
Et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari, et quasi sopitus gubernator, amisso clavo:
35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt. They beat me, but I did not feel it. When will I wake up? I will seek another drink.”
et dices: Verberaverunt me, sed non dolui: traxerunt me, et ego non sensi: quando evigilabo, et rursus vina reperiam?
