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 considerest diligently that which [is] before thee,
2 Et statue cultrum in gutture tuo: si tamen habes in potestate animam tuam.
And thou hast put a knife to thy throat, If thou [art] a man of appetite.
3 Ne desideres de cibis ejus, in quo est panis mendacii.
Have no desire to his dainties, seeing it [is] lying food.
4 Noli laborare ut diteris, sed prudentiæ tuæ pone modum.
Labour not to make wealth, From thine own understanding cease, Dost thou cause thine eyes to fly upon it? Then it is not.
5 Ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes quas non potes habere, quia facient sibi pennas quasi aquilæ, et volabunt in cælum.
For wealth maketh to itself wings, As an eagle it flieth to the heavens.
6 Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos ejus:
Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to 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 hath thought in his soul, so [is] he, 'Eat and drink,' saith he to thee, And his heart [is] not with thee.
8 Cibos quos comederas evomes, et perdes pulchros sermones tuos.
Thy morsel thou hast eaten thou dost vomit up, And hast marred thy words that [are] sweet.
9 In auribus insipientium ne loquaris, qui despicient doctrinam eloquii tui.
In the ears of a fool speak not, For he treadeth on the wisdom of thy words.
10 Ne attingas parvulorum terminos, et agrum pupillorum ne introëas:
Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,
11 propinquus enim illorum fortis est, et ipse judicabit contra te causam illorum.
For their Redeemer [is] strong, He doth plead their cause with thee.
12 Ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum, et aures tuæ ad verba scientiæ.
Bring in to instruction thy heart, And thine ear to sayings of knowledge.
13 Noli subtrahere a puero disciplinam: si enim percusseris eum virga, non morietur.
Withhold not from a youth chastisement, When thou smitest him with a rod he dieth not.
Thou with a rod smitest him, And his soul from Sheol thou deliverest. (Sheol h7585)
15 Fili mi, si sapiens fuerit animus tuus, gaudebit tecum cor meum:
My son, if thy heart hath been wise, My heart rejoiceth, even mine,
16 et exsultabunt renes mei, cum locuta fuerint rectum labia tua.
And my reins exult when thy lips speak uprightly.
17 Non æmuletur cor tuum peccatores, sed in timore Domini esto tota die:
Let not thy heart be envious at sinners, But — in the fear of Jehovah all the day.
18 quia habebis spem in novissimo, et præstolatio tua non auferetur.
For, is there a posterity? Then thy hope is not cut off.
19 Audi, fili mi, et esto sapiens, et dirige in via animum tuum.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And make happy in the way thy heart,
20 Noli esse in conviviis potatorum, nec in comessationibus eorum qui carnes ad vescendum conferunt:
Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones of flesh,
21 quia vacantes potibus et dantes symbola consumentur, et vestietur pannis dormitatio.
For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.
22 Audi patrem tuum, qui genuit te, et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua.
Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old.
23 Veritatem eme, et noli vendere sapientiam, et doctrinam, et intelligentiam.
Truth buy, and sell not, Wisdom, and instruction, and understanding,
24 Exsultat gaudio pater justi; qui sapientem genuit, lætabitur in eo.
The father of the righteous rejoiceth greatly, The begetter of the wise rejoiceth in him.
25 Gaudeat pater tuus et mater tua, et exsultet quæ genuit te.
Rejoice doth thy father and thy mother, Yea, she that bare thee is joyful.
26 Præbe, fili mi, cor tuum mihi, et oculi tui vias meas custodiant.
Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine 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 strait pit.
28 Insidiatur in via quasi latro, et quos incautos viderit, interficiet.
She also, as catching prey, lieth in wait, And the treacherous among men she increaseth.
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 plaint? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?
30 nonne his qui commorantur in vino, et student calicibus epotandis?
Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search out mixed wine.
31 Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit, cum splenduerit in vitro color ejus: ingreditur blande,
See not wine when it showeth itself red, When it giveth in the cup its colour, It goeth up and down through the upright.
32 sed in novissimo mordebit ut coluber, et sicut regulus venena diffundet.
Its latter end — as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth.
33 Oculi tui videbunt extraneas, et cor tuum loquetur perversa.
Thine eyes see strange women, And thy heart speaketh perverse things.
34 Et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari, et quasi sopitus gubernator, amisso clavo.
And thou hast been as one lying down in the heart of the sea, And as one lying down 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, I have not been sick, They beat me, I have not known. When I awake — I seek it yet again!'
