< 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 him that 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 ejus, in quo est panis mendacii.
Be not desirous of his dainties; Seeing they are deceitful food.
4 Noli laborare ut diteris, sed prudentiæ tuæ pone modum.
Weary not thyself to be rich; Cease from thine 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 thine eyes upon that which is not? For [riches] certainly make themselves wings, Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
6 Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos ejus:
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, Neither desire thou his dainties:
7 quoniam in similitudinem arioli et conjectoris æstimat quod ignorat. Comede et bibe, dicet tibi; et mens ejus non est tecum.
For as he thinketh within himself, 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 hearing of a fool; For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Ne attingas parvulorum terminos, et agrum pupillorum ne introëas:
Remove not the ancient landmark; And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11 propinquus enim illorum fortis est, et ipse judicabit 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 unto 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.
14 Tu virga percuties eum, et animam ejus de inferno liberabis. (Sheol )
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol. (Sheol )
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 exsultabunt 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 unto 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; [Yea], wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 Exsultat gaudio pater justi; qui sapientem genuit, lætabitur in eo.
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.
25 Gaudeat pater tuus et mater tua, et exsultet quæ genuit te.
Let thy father and thy mother be glad, And let her that bare 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 a foreign woman is a narrow pit.
28 Insidiatur in via quasi latro, et quos incautos viderit, interficiet.
Yea, she lieth in wait as a robber, And increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 Cui væ? cujus patri væ? cui rixæ? cui foveæ? cui sine causa vulnera? cui suffusio oculorum?
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? 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 out mixed wine.
31 Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit, cum splenduerit in vitro color ejus: ingreditur blande,
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, When it sparkleth in the cup, When it goeth down smoothly:
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.
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 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 hurt; They have beaten me, and I felt it not: When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.