Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Thou considerest diligently that which [is] before thee,
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, thou shalt consider well, what is before thee;
2 And thou hast put a knife to thy throat, If thou [art] a man of appetite.
And shalt put a knife to thy throat, if, of great appetite, thou art:
3 Have no desire to his dainties, seeing it [is] lying food.
Do not crave his dainties, for, the same, are deceitful food.
4 Labour not to make wealth, From thine own understanding cease, Dost thou cause thine eyes to fly upon it? Then it is not.
Do not toil to get wealth, of thine own understanding, forbear:
5 For wealth maketh to itself wings, As an eagle it flieth to the heavens.
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.
6 Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to his dainties,
Do not eat the food of him that hath a begrudging eye, neither crave thou his dainties;
7 For as he hath thought in his soul, so [is] he, 'Eat and drink,' saith he to thee, And his heart [is] not with thee.
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.
8 Thy morsel thou hast eaten thou dost vomit up, And hast marred thy words that [are] sweet.
As for thy morsel thou hast eaten, thou shalt vomit it, so shalt thou waste thy things so sweet.
9 In the ears of a fool speak not, For he treadeth on the wisdom of thy words.
In the ears of a dullard, do not speak, for he will despise the good sense of thy words.
10 Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,
Do not move back the ancient boundary, and, into the fields of the fatherless, do not enter;
11 For their Redeemer [is] strong, He doth plead their cause with thee.
For, their near of kin, is strong, he, will plead their cause with thee.
12 Bring in to instruction thy heart, And thine ear to sayings of knowledge.
Bring, to correction, thy heart, and thine ears, to the sayings of knowledge.
13 Withhold not from a youth chastisement, When thou smitest him with a rod he dieth not.
Do not withhold, from a child, correction, When thou smitest him with the rod, he shall not die:
Thou, with the rod, shalt smite him, and, his soul from hades, shalt thou deliver. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thy heart hath been wise, My heart rejoiceth, even mine,
My son! if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16 And my reins exult when thy lips speak uprightly.
So shall my reins exult, when thy lips speak the things that are right.
17 Let not thy heart be envious at sinners, But — in the fear of Jehovah all the day.
Let not thy heart be envious of sinners, only of the reverence of Yahweh, all day long;
18 For, is there a posterity? Then thy hope is not cut off.
For surely there is a future, and, thine expectation, shall not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And make happy in the way thy heart,
Hear, thou, my son, and be wise, and lead forward, in duty, thy heart.
20 Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones of flesh,
Do not be among them who tipple with wine, —among them who are gluttons;
21 For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.
For, the tippler and the glutton, shall come to poverty, and, rags, shall Slumber put on!
22 Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old.
Hearken to thy father here, who begat thee, and despise not, when she is old, thy mother.
23 Truth buy, and sell not, Wisdom, and instruction, and understanding,
Truth, buy thou, but do not sell, wisdom, and correction, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous rejoiceth greatly, The begetter of the wise rejoiceth in him.
Greatly shall exult, the father of a righteous man, and, he that begetteth a wise son, shall rejoice in him:
25 Rejoice doth thy father and thy mother, Yea, she that bare thee is joyful.
Rejoice shall thy father and thy mother, yea she, shall exult, who bare thee.
26 Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine eyes watch my ways.
Oh give, my son, thy mind unto me, and let, thine eyes, observe, my ways;
27 For a harlot [is] a deep ditch, And a strange woman [is] a strait pit.
For, a deep chasm, is the unchaste woman, and, a narrow pit, the female unknown;
28 She also, as catching prey, lieth in wait, And the treacherous among men she increaseth.
Yea, she, as for prey, lieth in wait, and, the treacherous among mankind, she causeth to abound.
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? who hath plaint? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?
Who hath woe? Who hath outcry of pain? Who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? Who hath needless wounds? Who hath dullness of eyes?
30 Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search out mixed wine.
They who tarry over wine, they who go in to search for mixed wine.
31 See not wine when it showeth itself red, When it giveth in the cup its colour, It goeth up and down through the upright.
Do not look on wine when it becometh red, when it giveth in the cup its sparkle, glideth down smoothly.
32 Its latter end — as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth.
Its after effect, is that, like a serpent, it biteth, and, like a viper, it doth sting.
33 Thine eyes see strange women, And thy heart speaketh perverse things.
Thine eyes, will see strange women, and, thy heart, will speak perverse things:
34 And thou hast been as one lying down in the heart of the sea, And as one lying down on the top of a mast.
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:
35 'They smote me, I have not been sick, They beat me, I have not known. When I awake — I seek it yet again!'
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!
