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 well 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 ejus, 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.
Weary not thyself to become rich; cease from thine own intelligence:
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 it, it is gone; for indeed it maketh itself wings and it flieth away as an eagle towards the heavens.
6 Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos ejus:
Eat thou not the food 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 in his soul, so is he. Eat and drink! will he say unto 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 vomit up, and thou wilt have wasted thy sweet words.
9 In auribus insipientium ne loquaris, qui despicient doctrinam eloquii tui.
Speak not in the ears of a foolish [man], 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 mighty; 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 beatest him with the rod, he shall not die:
thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt 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 shall rejoice, even mine;
16 et exsultabunt renes mei, cum locuta fuerint rectum labia tua.
and my reins shall exult, 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;
18 quia habebis spem in novissimo, et præstolatio tua non auferetur.
for surely there is a result, and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
19 Audi, fili mi, et esto sapiens, et dirige in via animum tuum.
Thou, my son, hear and be wise, and direct 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 riotous 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 clotheth 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; wisdom, and instruction, and intelligence.
24 Exsultat gaudio pater justi; qui sapientem genuit, lætabitur in eo.
The father of a righteous [man] shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise [son] shall have joy of him:
25 Gaudeat pater tuus et mater tua, et exsultet quæ genuit te.
let thy father and thy mother have joy, and let her that 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 observe my ways.
27 Fovea enim profunda est meretrix, et puteus angustus aliena.
For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28 Insidiatur in via quasi latro, et quos incautos viderit, interficiet.
She also 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 contentions? Who complaining? Who wounds without cause? Who 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 try mixed wine.
31 Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit, cum splenduerit in vitro color ejus: ingreditur blande,
Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it sparkleth in the cup, and 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 women, and thy heart shall speak froward 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, and as he that lieth down 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 smitten me, [and] I am not sore; they have beaten me, [and] I knew it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.”
