Proverbiorum 23
1 Quando sederis ut comedas cum principe, diligenter attende quæ apposita sunt ante faciem tuam:
When thou sit to eat with a ruler, consider diligently him who is before thee,
2 et statue cultrum in gutture tuo, si tamen habes in potestate animam tuam,
and put a knife to thy throat if thou be a man given to appetite.
3 ne desideres de cibis eius, in quo est panis mendacii.
Be not desirous of his dainties, since they are deceitful food.
4 Noli laborare ut diteris: sed prudentiæ tuæ pone modum.
Weary not thyself to be rich. Out of thine own wisdom, cease.
5 Ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes, quas non potes habere: quia facient sibi pennas quasi aquilæ, et volabunt in cælum.
Will thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For it certainly makes itself wings, like an eagle that flies toward heaven.
6 Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos eius:
Eat thou not the bread of an evil eye, nor desire thou his dainties.
7 quoniam in similitudinem arioli, et coniectoris, æstimat quod ignorat. Comede et bibe, dicet tibi: et mens eius non est tecum.
For as he thinks within himself, so is he. Eat and drink, he says to thee, but his heart is not with thee.
8 Cibos, quos comederas, evomes: et perdes pulchros sermones tuos.
The morsel which thou have eaten thou shall vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
9 In auribus insipientium ne loquaris: qui despicient doctrinam eloquii tui.
Speak not in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Ne attingas parvulorum terminos: et agrum pupillorum ne introeas:
Remove not the ancient landmark. And enter not into the fields of the fatherless,
11 Propinquus enim illorum fortis est: et ipse iudicabit contra te causam illorum.
for their Redeemer is strong. He will plead their cause against thee.
12 Ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum: et aures tuæ ad verba scientiæ.
Apply thy heart to instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Noli subtrahere a puero disciplinam: si enim percusseris eum virga, non morietur.
Withhold not correction from the child, for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Thou shall beat him with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 Fili mi, si sapiens fuerit animus tuus, gaudebit tecum cor meum:
My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart will be glad, even mine.
16 et exultabunt renes mei, cum locuta fuerint rectum labia tua.
Yea, my heart will rejoice when thy lips speak right things.
17 Non æmuletur cor tuum peccatores: sed in timore Domini esto tota die:
Let not thy heart envy sinners, but be thou in the fear of Jehovah all the day long.
18 quia habebis spem in novissimo, et præstolatio tua non auferetur.
For surely there is a reward, and thy hope shall not be cut off.
19 Audi fili mi, et esto sapiens: et dirige in via animum tuum.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thy heart in the way.
20 Noli esse in conviviis potatorum, nec in comessationibus eorum, qui carnes ad vescendum conferunt:
Be not among winebibbers, among gluttonous eaters of flesh.
21 quia vacantes potibus, et dantes symbola consumentur, et vestietur pannis dormitatio.
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
22 Audi patrem tuum, qui genuit te: et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua.
Hearken to thy father who begot thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Veritatem eme, et noli vendere sapientiam, et doctrinam, et intelligentiam.
Buy the truth, and do not sell it, yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 Exultat gaudio pater iusti: qui sapientem genuit, lætabitur in eo.
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise son will have joy of him.
25 Gaudeat pater tuus, et mater tua, et exultet quæ genuit te.
Let thy father and thy mother be glad, and let her who bore thee rejoice.
26 Præbe fili mi cor tuum mihi: et oculi tui vias meas custodiant.
My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes delight in my ways.
27 Fovea enim profunda est meretrix: et puteus angustus, aliena.
For a harlot is a deep ditch, and an interloping woman is a narrow pit.
28 Insidiatur in via quasi latro, et quos incautos viderit, interficiet.
Yea, she lies in wait as a robber, and increases the treacherous among men.
29 Cui væ? cuius patri væ? cui rixæ? cui foveæ? cui sine causa vulnera? cui suffusio oculorum?
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
30 Nonne his, qui commorantur in vino, et student calicibus epotandis?
Those who tarry long at the wine. Those who go to seek out mixed wine.
31 Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit, cum splenduerit in vitro color eius: ingreditur blande,
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly.
32 sed in novissimo mordebit ut coluber, et sicut regulus venena diffundet.
At the end it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder.
33 Oculi tui videbunt extraneas, et cor tuum loquetur perversa.
Thine eyes shall behold strange things, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari, et quasi sopitus gubernator, amisso clavo:
Yea, thou shall be as he who lies down in the midst of the sea, or as he who lies upon the top of a mast.
35 et dices: Verberaverunt me, sed non dolui: traxerunt me, et ego non sensi: quando evigilabo, et rursus vina reperiam?
They have stricken me, thou shall say, and I was not hurt. They have beaten me, and I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
