< Proverbiorum 23 >

1 Quando sederis ut comedas cum principe, diligenter attende quæ apposita sunt ante faciem tuam:
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
2 et statue cultrum in gutture tuo, si tamen habes in potestate animam tuam,
For thou puttest a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man of a craving desire.
3 ne desideres de cibis eius, in quo est panis mendacii.
Do not long for his savory meats; they are deceitful food.
4 Noli laborare ut diteris: sed prudentiæ tuæ pone modum.
Fatigue thyself not to become rich; because thou hast understanding, forbear.
5 Ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes, quas non potes habere: quia facient sibi pennas quasi aquilæ, et volabunt in cælum.
When thou lettest merely thy eyes fly over it, it is no more: for it will ever make itself wings: like an eagle will it fly toward heaven.
6 Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos eius:
Eat not the bread of a man with an evil eye, and do not long for his savory meats;
7 quoniam in similitudinem arioli, et coniectoris, æstimat quod ignorat. Comede et bibe, dicet tibi: et mens eius non est tecum.
For as though there were a division in his soul, so doth he act: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8 Cibos, quos comederas, evomes: et perdes pulchros sermones tuos.
Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou spit out, and thou hast wasted thy pleasant words.
9 In auribus insipientium ne loquaris: qui despicient doctrinam eloquii tui.
Speak not before the ears of a fool; for he will despise the intelligence of thy words.
10 Ne attingas parvulorum terminos: et agrum pupillorum ne introeas:
Remove not the ancient landmark, and into the fields of the fatherless must thou not enter;
11 Propinquus enim illorum fortis est: et ipse iudicabit contra te causam illorum.
For their redeemer is strong; he will indeed plead their cause with thee.
12 Ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum: et aures tuæ ad verba scientiæ.
Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thy ears to the sayings of knowledge.
13 Noli subtrahere a puero disciplinam: si enim percusseris eum virga, non morietur.
Withhold not from a lad correction; for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
14 Tu virga percuties eum: et animam eius de inferno liberabis. (Sheol h7585)
Thou wilt indeed beat him with the rod; but thou wilt deliver his soul from perdition. (Sheol h7585)
15 Fili mi, si sapiens fuerit animus tuus, gaudebit tecum cor meum:
My son, If thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16 et exultabunt renes mei, cum locuta fuerint rectum labia tua.
And my reins shall exult when thy lips speak what is equitable.
17 Non æmuletur cor tuum peccatores: sed in timore Domini esto tota die:
Let not thy heart be envious against sinners; but [remain] in the fear of the lord all the time.
18 quia habebis spem in novissimo, et præstolatio tua non auferetur.
For surely there is a future, and thy hope will not be cut off.
19 Audi fili mi, et esto sapiens: et dirige in via animum tuum.
Hear thou, my son, and become wise, and guide thy heart on the right way.
20 Noli esse in conviviis potatorum, nec in comessationibus eorum, qui carnes ad vescendum conferunt:
Be not among those that drink wine immoderately, among those that over-indulge in eating flesh:
21 quia vacantes potibus, et dantes symbola consumentur, et vestietur pannis dormitatio.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth a man in rags.
22 Audi patrem tuum, qui genuit te: et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua.
Hearken unto thy father that hath begotten thee, and despise not thy mother although she be old.
23 Veritatem eme, et noli vendere sapientiam, et doctrinam, et intelligentiam.
Buy the truth and sell it not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 Exultat gaudio pater iusti: qui sapientem genuit, lætabitur in eo.
The father of the righteous will be greatly glad, and he that begetteth a wise child will have joy through him.
25 Gaudeat pater tuus, et mater tua, et exultet quæ genuit te.
Let [then] thy father and thy mother rejoice, and let her that hath born thee be glad.
26 Præbe fili mi cor tuum mihi: et oculi tui vias meas custodiant.
Give, my son, thy heart unto me, and let thy eyes watch my ways.
27 Fovea enim profunda est meretrix: et puteus angustus, aliena.
For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow well.
28 Insidiatur in via quasi latro, et quos incautos viderit, interficiet.
She also lieth in wait like a robber, and she increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 Cui væ? cuius patri væ? cui rixæ? cui foveæ? cui sine causa vulnera? cui suffusio oculorum?
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath quarrels? who hath complaints? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 Nonne his, qui commorantur in vino, et student calicibus epotandis?
They that tarry late over the wine: they that come to seek for mixed drink.
31 Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit, cum splenduerit in vitro color eius: ingreditur blande,
Do not look on the wine when it looketh red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it glideth down so readily.
32 sed in novissimo mordebit ut coluber, et sicut regulus venena diffundet.
At the last it will bite like a serpent, and like a basilisk will it sting.
33 Oculi tui videbunt extraneas, et cor tuum loquetur perversa.
Thy eyes will see strange forms, and thy heart will speak perverse things.
34 Et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari, et quasi sopitus gubernator, amisso clavo:
And thou wilt be like one that lieth down in the heart of the sea, or as he that lieth on 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 smote me, [but] I suffered no pain; they struck me hard, [but] I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will continue to seek it again.”

< Proverbiorum 23 >