Proverbiorum 23
1 Quando sederis ut comedas cum principe, diligenter attende quae apposita sunt ante faciem tuam:
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
2 et statue cultrum in gutture tuo, si tamen habes in potestate animam tuam,
and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
3 ne desideres de cibis eius, in quo est panis mendacii.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4 Noli laborare ut diteris: sed prudentiae tuae pone modum.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5 Ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes, quas non potes habere: quia facient sibi pennas quasi aquilae, et volabunt in caelum.
When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
6 Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos eius:
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
7 quoniam in similitudinem arioli, et coniectoris, aestimat quod ignorat. Comede et bibe, dicet tibi: et mens eius non est tecum.
for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 Cibos, quos comederas, evomes: et perdes pulchros sermones tuos.
You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9 In auribus insipientium ne loquaris: qui despicient doctrinam eloquii tui.
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Ne attingas parvulorum terminos: et agrum pupillorum ne introeas:
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 Propinquus enim illorum fortis est: et ipse iudicabit contra te causam illorum.
for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
12 Ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum: et aures tuae ad verba scientiae.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Noli subtrahere a puero disciplinam: si enim percusseris eum virga, non morietur.
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 Fili mi, si sapiens fuerit animus tuus, gaudebit tecum cor meum:
My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
16 et exultabunt renes mei, cum locuta fuerint recta labia tua.
My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Non aemuletur cor tuum peccatores: sed in timore Domini esto tota die:
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
18 quia habebis spem in novissimo, et praestolatio tua non auferetur.
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Audi fili mi, et esto sapiens: et dirige in via animum tuum.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
20 Noli esse in conviviis potatorum, nec in comessationibus eorum, qui carnes ad vescendum conferunt:
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
21 quia vacantes potibus, et dantes symbola consumentur, et vestietur pannis dormitatio.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
22 Audi patrem tuum, qui genuit te: et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua.
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Veritatem eme, et noli vendere sapientiam, et doctrinam, et intelligentiam.
Invest in truth and never sell it— in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 Exultat gaudio pater iusti: qui sapientem genuit, laetabitur in eo.
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
25 Gaudeat pater tuus, et mater tua, et exultet quae genuit te.
May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
26 Praebe fili mi cor tuum mihi: et oculi tui vias meas custodiant.
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27 Fovea enim profunda est meretrix: et puteus angustus, aliena.
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
28 Insidiatur in via quasi latro, et quos incautos viderit, interficiet.
Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.
29 Cui vae? cuius patri vae? cui rixae? cui foveae? cui sine causa vulnera? cui suffusio oculorum?
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Nonne his, qui commorantur in vino, et student calicibus epotandis?
Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
31 Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit, cum splenduerit in vitro color eius: ingreditur blande,
Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
32 sed in novissimo mordebit ut coluber, et sicut regulus venena diffundet.
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
33 Oculi tui videbunt extraneas, et cor tuum loquetur perversa.
Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
34 Et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari, et quasi sopitus gubernator, amisso clavo:
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying 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 struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”
