Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what [is] before thee:
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou [art] a man given to appetite.
and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties: for they [are] deceitful food.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4 Labor not to be rich: cease from thy own wisdom.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5 Wilt thou set thy eyes upon that which is not? for [riches] certainly make to themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle towards heaven.
When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
6 Eat thou not the bread of [him that hath] an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties:
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart [is] not with thee.
for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel [which] thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 For their redeemer [is] mighty; he will plead their cause with thee.
for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
12 Apply thy heart to instruction, and thy ears to the words of knowledge.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the child: for [if] thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
16 Yes, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
18 For surely there is an end; and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thy heart in the way.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
20 Be not among wine-bibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe [a man] with rags.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
22 Hearken to thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and sell [it] not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Invest in truth and never sell it— in 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 a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bore thee shall rejoice.
May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
26 My son, give me thy heart, and let thy eyes observe my ways.
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27 For a lewd woman [is] a deep ditch; and a strange woman [is] a narrow pit.
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
28 She also lieth in wait as [for] a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, [when] it moveth itself aright.
Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
33 Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
34 And 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.
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast:
35 They have stricken me, [wilt thou say], [and] I was not sick; they have beaten me, [and] I felt [it] not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
“They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”
