Proverbiorum 23
1 Quando sederis ut comedas cum principe, diligenter attende quae apposita sunt ante faciem tuam:
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider well 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 eius, in quo est panis mendacii.
Be not desirous of his dainties; seeing they are deceitful food.
4 Noli laborare ut diteris: sed prudentiae tuae 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 aquilae, et volabunt in caelum.
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon it? it is gone; for riches certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
6 Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos eius:
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties;
7 quoniam in similitudinem arioli, et coniectoris, aestimat quod ignorat. Comede et bibe, dicet tibi: et mens eius non est tecum.
For as one that hath reckoned 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 ears of a fool; for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Ne attingas parvulorum terminos: et agrum pupillorum ne introeas:
Remove not the ancient landmark; and enter not into 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 plead their cause with thee.
12 Ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum: et aures tuae ad verba scientiae.
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 though thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Thou beatest him with the rod, and wilt deliver his soul from the nether-world. (Sheol h7585)
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 exultabunt renes mei, cum locuta fuerint recta labia tua.
Yea, my reins will rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
17 Non aemuletur cor tuum peccatores: sed in timore Domini esto tota die:
Let not thy heart envy sinners, but be in the fear of the LORD all the day;
18 quia habebis spem in novissimo, et praestolatio tua non auferetur.
For surely there is a future; 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 shall clothe a man with rags.
22 Audi patrem tuum, qui genuit te: et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua.
Hearken unto thy father that begot 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; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 Exultat gaudio pater iusti: qui sapientem genuit, laetabitur 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 exultet quae genuit te.
Let thy father and thy mother be glad, and let her that bore thee rejoice.
26 Praebe 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 harlot is a deep ditch; and an alien 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 faithless among men.
29 Cui vae? cuius patri vae? cui rixae? cui foveae? cui sine causa vulnera? cui suffusio oculorum?
Who crieth: 'Woe'? who: 'Alas'? who hath contentions? who hath raving? 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 try mixed wine.
31 Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit, cum splenduerit in vitro color eius: ingreditur blande,
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup, when it glideth 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 a basilisk.
33 Oculi tui videbunt extraneas, et cor tuum loquetur perversa.
Thine eyes shall behold strange things, and thy heart shall utter confused 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 struck me, and I felt it not, they have beaten me, and I knew it not; when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.'
