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, thou shalt consider well, what is before thee;
2 et statue cultrum in gutture tuo, si tamen habes in potestate animam tuam,
And shalt put a knife to thy throat, if, of great appetite, thou art:
3 ne desideres de cibis eius, in quo est panis mendacii.
Do not crave his dainties, for, the same, are deceitful food.
4 Noli laborare ut diteris: sed prudentiæ tuæ ponde modum.
Do not toil to get wealth, of thine own understanding, forbear:
5 Ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes, quas non potes habere: quia facient sibi pennas quasi aquilæ, et volabunt in cælum.
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 Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos eius:
Do not eat the food of him that hath a begrudging eye, neither crave 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, 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 Cibos, quos comederas, evomes: et perdes pulchros sermones tuos.
As for thy morsel thou hast eaten, thou shalt vomit it, so shalt thou waste thy things so sweet.
9 In auribus insipientium ne loquaris: qui despicient doctrinam eloquii tui.
In the ears of a dullard, do not speak, for he will despise the good sense of thy words.
10 Ne attingas parvulorum terminos: et agrum pupillorum ne introeas:
Do not move back the ancient boundary, and, into the fields of the fatherless, do not enter;
11 Propinquus enim illorum fortis est: et ipse iudicabit contra te causam illorum.
For, their near of kin, is strong, he, will plead their cause with thee.
12 Ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum: et aures tuæ ad verba scientiæ.
Bring, to correction, thy heart, and thine ears, to the sayings of knowledge.
13 Noli subtrahere a puero disciplinam: si enim percusseris eum virga, non morietur.
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 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.
So shall my reins exult, when thy lips speak the things that are right.
17 Non æmuletur cor tuum peccatores: sed in timore Domini esto tota die:
Let not thy heart be envious of sinners, only of the reverence of Yahweh, all day long;
18 quia habebis spem in novissimo, et præstolatio tua non auferetur.
For surely there is a future, and, thine 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 lead forward, in duty, thy heart.
20 Noli esse in conviviis potatorum, nec in comessationibus eorum, qui carnes ad vescendum conferunt:
Do not be among them who tipple with wine, —among them who are gluttons;
21 quia vacantes potibus, et dantes symbola consumentur, et vestietur pannis dormitatio.
For, the tippler and the glutton, shall come to poverty, and, rags, shall Slumber put on!
22 Audi patrem tuum, qui genuit te: et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua.
Hearken to thy father here, who begat thee, and despise not, when she is old, thy mother.
23 Veritatem eme, et noli vendere sapientiam, et doctrinam, et intelligentiam.
Truth, buy thou, but do not sell, wisdom, and correction, and understanding.
24 Exultat gaudio pater iusti: qui sapientem genuit, lætabitur in eo.
Greatly shall exult, the father of a righteous man, and, he that begetteth a wise son, shall rejoice in him:
25 Gaudeat pater tuus, et mater tua, et exultet quæ genuit te.
Rejoice shall thy father and thy mother, yea she, shall exult, who bare thee.
26 Præbe fili mi cor tuum mihi: et oculi tui vias meas custodiant.
Oh give, my son, thy mind unto me, and let, thine eyes, observe, my ways;
27 Fovea enim profunda est meretrix: et puteus angustus, aliena.
For, a deep chasm, is the unchaste woman, and, a narrow pit, the female unknown;
28 Insidiatur in via quasi latro, et quos incautos viderit, interficiet.
Yea, she, as for prey, lieth in wait, and, the treacherous among mankind, she causeth to abound.
29 Cui væ? cuius patri væ? cui rixæ? cui foveæ? cui sine causa vulnera? cui suffusio oculorum?
Who hath woe? Who hath outcry of pain? Who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? Who hath needless wounds? Who hath dullness of eyes?
30 Nonne his, qui commorantur in vino, et student calicibus epotandis?
They who tarry over wine, they who go in to search for mixed wine.
31 Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit, cum splenduerit in vitro color eius: ingreditur blande,
Do not look on wine when it becometh red, when it giveth in the cup its sparkle, glideth down smoothly.
32 sed in novissimo mordebit ut coluber, et sicut regulus venena diffundet.
Its after effect, is that, like a serpent, it biteth, and, like a viper, it doth sting.
33 Oculi tui videbunt extraneas, et cor tuum loquetur perversa.
Thine eyes, will see strange women, and, thy heart, will speak perverse things:
34 Et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari, et quasi sopitus gubernator, amisso clavo:
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 et dices: Verberaverunt me, sed non dolui: traxerunt me, et ego non sensi: quando evigilabo, et rursus vina reperiam?
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!
