Proverbs 23
1 When you sit down for a meal with a ruler, look carefully at what is placed before you,
If thou sit to sup at the table of a prince, consider attentively the things set before thee:
2 and cut down if you have a big appetite.
and apply thine hand, knowing that it behoves thee to prepare such [meats]: but if thou art very insatiable,
3 Don't be greedy for his fancy food, for it's offered with deceptive motives.
desire not his provisions; for these belong to a false life.
4 Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich—be wise enough not to bother!
If thou art poor, measure not thyself with a rich man; but refrain thyself in thy wisdom.
5 It disappears in the blink of an eye, suddenly growing wings and flying off into the sky like an eagle.
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.
6 Don't accept meal invitations from miserly people; don't be greedy for their fancy food,
Sup not with an envious man, neither desire thou his meats:
7 for what they're thinking inside is what they really are. They say, “Come on, eat and drink!”—but in their minds they don't really care about you.
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:
8 You'll vomit up the little pieces you've eaten, and your kind words of appreciation will be wasted.
for he will vomit it up, and spoil thy fair words.
9 Don't talk to stupid people because they'll ridicule your wise words.
Say nothing in the ears of a fool, lest at any time he sneer at thy wise words.
10 Don't move ancient boundary markers, and don't encroach on fields belonging to orphans,
Remove not the ancient landmarks; and enter not upon the possession of the fatherless:
11 for their Protector is powerful and he will plead their case against you.
for the Lord is their redeemer; he is mighty, and will plead their cause with thee.
12 Focus your mind on instruction; listen intently to words of knowledge.
Apply thine heart to instruction, and prepare thine ears for words of discretion.
13 Don't keep from disciplining your children—a beating won't kill them.
Refrain not from chastening a child; for if thou beat him with the rod, he shall not die.
For thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from death. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if you think wisely then I'll be happy;
Son, if thy heart be wise, thou shalt also gladden my heart;
16 I'll be delighted when you say what's right.
and thy lips shall converse with my lips, if they be right.
17 Don't think enviously of sinners, but always remember to honor the Lord,
Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day.
18 for there's definitely a future for you, and your hope will not be crushed.
For if thou shouldest keep these things, thou shalt have posterity; and thine hope shall not be removed.
19 Pay attention, my son, and be wise; make sure your mind concentrates on following the right way.
Hear, [my] son, and be wise, and rightly direct the thoughts of thine heart.
20 Don't join in with people who drink too much wine or who stuff themselves with meat.
Be not a wine-bibber, neither continue long at feasts, and purchases of flesh:
21 For people who get drunk and overeat lose all they've got, and they spend so much time dozing that all they have left to wear is rags.
for every drunkard and whoremonger shall be poor; and every sluggard shall clothe himself with tatters and ragged garments.
22 Pay attention to your father, and don't disregard your mother when she's old.
Hearken, [my] son, to thy father which begot thee, and despise not [thy mother] because she is grown old.
23 Invest in truth—and don't sell it! Invest in wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 Children who do right make their fathers very happy; a wise son brings joy to his father.
A righteous father brings up [his children] well; and his soul rejoices over a wise son.
25 Make your father and mother happy; bring joy to her who gave birth to you.
Let thy father and thy mother rejoice over thee, and let her that bore thee be glad.
26 My son, give me your undivided attention, and cheerfully follow my example.
[My] son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
27 A prostitute is like being trapped in a pit; an immoral woman is like getting stuck a narrow well,
For a strange house is a vessel full of holes; and a strange well is narrow.
28 Like a robber, she lies in wait ready to ambush men and make more of them unfaithful to their wives.
For such a one shall perish suddenly; and every transgressor shall be cut off.
29 Who's in trouble? Who's in pain? Who's arguing? Who's complaining? Who's injured for no reason? Who's got bloodshot eyes?
Who [has] woe? who trouble? who [has] quarrels? and who vexations and disputes? who [has] bruises without a cause? whose eyes are livid?
30 —those who spend a long time drinking wine, those who are always trying some new cocktail.
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.
31 Don't let the look of wine tempt you—how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smooth it feels as it goes down.
For if thou shouldest set thine eyes on bowls and cups, thou shalt afterwards go more naked than a pestle.
32 In the end it bites like a serpent, it stings like a snake.
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.
33 You'll hallucinate, seeing strange things, and your confused mind will make you say all kinds of craziness.
Whenever thine eyes shall behold a strange woman, then thy mouth shall speak perverse things.
34 You'll stumble around like you're on the rolling ocean, you'll be tossed about like someone lying down at the top of a ship's mast, saying,
And thou shalt lie as in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot in a great storm.
35 “People punched me, but it didn't hurt me; they beat me, but I didn't feel a thing. I've got to get up because I need another drink.”
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?
