Proverbs 23
1 If thou sit to sup at the table of a prince, consider attentively the things set before thee:
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Thou considerest diligently that which [is] before thee,
2 and apply thine hand, knowing that it behoves thee to prepare such [meats]: but if thou art very insatiable,
And thou hast put a knife to thy throat, If thou [art] a man of appetite.
3 desire not his provisions; for these belong to a false life.
Have no desire to his dainties, seeing it [is] lying food.
4 If thou art poor, measure not thyself with a rich man; but refrain thyself in thy wisdom.
Labour not to make wealth, From thine own understanding cease, Dost thou cause thine eyes to fly upon it? Then it is not.
5 If thou shouldest fix thine eye upon him, he will disappear; for wings like an eagle's are prepared for him, and he returns to the house of his master.
For wealth maketh to itself wings, As an eagle it flieth to the heavens.
6 Sup not with an envious man, neither desire thou his meats:
Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to his dainties,
7 so he eats and drinks as if any one should swallow a hair, and do not bring him in to thyself, nor eat thy morsel with him:
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 for he will vomit it up, and spoil thy fair words.
Thy morsel thou hast eaten thou dost vomit up, And hast marred thy words that [are] sweet.
9 Say nothing in the ears of a fool, lest at any time he sneer at thy wise words.
In the ears of a fool speak not, For he treadeth on the wisdom of thy words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmarks; and enter not upon the possession of the fatherless:
Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,
11 for the Lord is their redeemer; he is mighty, and will plead their cause with thee.
For their Redeemer [is] strong, He doth plead their cause with thee.
12 Apply thine heart to instruction, and prepare thine ears for words of discretion.
Bring in to instruction thy heart, And thine ear to sayings of knowledge.
13 Refrain not from chastening a child; for if thou beat him with the rod, he shall not die.
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 Son, if thy heart be wise, thou shalt also gladden my heart;
My son, if thy heart hath been wise, My heart rejoiceth, even mine,
16 and thy lips shall converse with my lips, if they be right.
And my reins exult when thy lips speak uprightly.
17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day.
Let not thy heart be envious at sinners, But — in the fear of Jehovah all the day.
18 For if thou shouldest keep these things, thou shalt have posterity; and thine hope shall not be removed.
For, is there a posterity? Then thy hope is not cut off.
19 Hear, [my] son, and be wise, and rightly direct the thoughts of thine heart.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And make happy in the way thy heart,
20 Be not a wine-bibber, neither continue long at feasts, and purchases of flesh:
Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones of flesh,
21 for every drunkard and whoremonger shall be poor; and every sluggard shall clothe himself with tatters and ragged garments.
For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.
22 Hearken, [my] son, to thy father which begot thee, and despise not [thy mother] because she is grown old.
Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old.
Truth buy, and sell not, Wisdom, and instruction, and understanding,
24 A righteous father brings up [his children] well; and his soul rejoices over a wise son.
The father of the righteous rejoiceth greatly, The begetter of the wise rejoiceth in him.
25 Let thy father and thy mother rejoice over thee, and let her that bore thee be glad.
Rejoice doth thy father and thy mother, Yea, she that bare thee is joyful.
26 [My] son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine eyes watch my ways.
27 For a strange house is a vessel full of holes; and a strange well is narrow.
For a harlot [is] a deep ditch, And a strange woman [is] a strait pit.
28 For such a one shall perish suddenly; and every transgressor shall be cut off.
She also, as catching prey, lieth in wait, And the treacherous among men she increaseth.
29 Who [has] woe? who trouble? who [has] quarrels? and who vexations and disputes? who [has] bruises without a cause? whose eyes are livid?
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? who hath plaint? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?
30 Are not those of them that stay long at wine? [are] not [those] of them that haunt [the places] where banquets are? Be not drunk with wine; but converse with just men, and converse [with them] openly.
Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search out mixed wine.
31 For if thou shouldest set thine eyes on bowls and cups, thou shalt afterwards go more naked than a pestle.
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 But at last [such a one] stretches himself out as one smitten by a serpent, and venom is diffused through him as by a horned serpent.
Its latter end — as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth.
33 Whenever thine eyes shall behold a strange woman, then thy mouth shall speak perverse things.
Thine eyes see strange women, And thy heart speaketh perverse things.
34 And thou shalt lie as in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot in a great storm.
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 And thou shalt say, They smote me, and I was not pained; and they mocked me, and I knew it not: when will it be morning, that I may go and seek those with whom I may go in company?
'They smote me, I have not been sick, They beat me, I have not known. When I awake — I seek it yet again!'
