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,
And put a knife to thy throat, if thou art a man given to appetite.
3 ne desideres de cibis eius, in quo est panis mendacii.
Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful food.
4 Noli laborare ut diteris: sed prudentiæ tuæ pone modum.
Labour not to be rich: cease from thy own wisdom.
5 Ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes, quas non potes habere: quia facient sibi pennas quasi aquilæ, et volabunt in cælum.
Wilt thou set thy eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make to themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
6 Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos eius:
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his delicacies:
7 quoniam in similitudinem arioli, et coniectoris, æstimat quod ignorat. Comede et bibe, dicet tibi: et mens eius non est tecum.
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8 Cibos, quos comederas, evomes: et perdes pulchros sermones tuos.
The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
9 In auribus insipientium ne loquaris: qui despicient doctrinam eloquii tui.
Speak not in the ears 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 old 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 mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.
12 Ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum: et aures tuæ ad verba scientiæ.
Apply thy heart to instruction, and thy 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 beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. (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.
Yea, my reins shall 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 the LORD all the day long.
18 quia habebis spem in novissimo, et præstolatio tua non auferetur.
For surely there is an end; and thy expectation 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 shall clothe a man with rags.
22 Audi patrem tuum, qui genuit te: et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua.
Hearken to thy father that begat 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 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 shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
25 Gaudeat pater tuus, et mater tua, et exultet quæ genuit te.
Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bore thee shall rejoice.
26 Præbe fili mi cor tuum mihi: et oculi tui vias meas custodiant.
My son, give me thy heart, and let thy eyes observe my ways.
27 Fovea enim profunda est meretrix: et puteus angustus, aliena.
For an harlot is a deep ditch; and an adulteress is a narrow pit.
28 Insidiatur in via quasi latro, et quos incautos viderit, interficiet.
She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors 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 contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 Nonne his, qui commorantur in vino, et student calicibus epotandis?
They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek 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 giveth its colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32 sed in novissimo mordebit ut coluber, et sicut regulus venena diffundet.
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33 Oculi tui videbunt extraneas, et cor tuum loquetur perversa.
Thy 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:
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.
35 et dices: Verberaverunt me, sed non dolui: traxerunt me, et ego non sensi: quando evigilabo, et rursus vina reperiam?
They have stricken me, shalt 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.
