Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what [is] before thee:
When you sit to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you,
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou [be] a man given to appetite.
and put a knife to your throat if you are a person who likes to eat a lot of food.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties: for they [are] deceitful meat.
Do not crave his delicacies, for it is the food of lies.
4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
Do not work too hard to gain wealth; be wise enough to know when to stop.
5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for [riches] certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Will you let your eyes light upon it? It will be gone, for it will surely take up wings like an eagle and fly off to the sky.
6 Eat thou not the bread of [him that hath] an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
Do not eat the food of one with an evil eye— and do not crave his delicacies,
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart [is] not with thee.
for he is the kind of man who counts the price of the food. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel [which] thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
You will vomit up the little you have eaten and you will have wasted your compliments.
9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of orphans,
11 For their redeemer [is] mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.
for their Redeemer is strong and he will plead their case against you.
12 Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the child: for [if] thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Do not withhold instruction from a child, for if you discipline him, he will not die.
It is you who must beat him with the rod and save his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad;
16 Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of Yahweh all the day.
18 For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
Surely there is a future and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
Hear—you!—my son, and be wise and direct your heart in the way.
20 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
Do not associate with drunkards, or with gluttonous eaters of meat,
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe [a man] with rags.
for the drunkard and the glutton become poor and slumber will clothe them with rags.
22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Listen to your father who begot you and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and sell [it] not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Buy the truth, but do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise [child] shall have joy of him.
The father of the righteous person will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise child will be glad in him.
25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
Let your father and your mother be glad and let her who bore you rejoice.
26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe my ways.
27 For a whore [is] a deep ditch; and a strange woman [is] a narrow pit.
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an immoral woman is a narrow well.
28 She also lieth in wait as [for] a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
She lies in wait like a robber and she increases the number of the treacherous among humanity.
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has fights? Who has complaining? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
Those who linger over wine, those who try the mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, [when] it moveth itself aright.
Do not look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
In the last it bites like a serpent and it stings like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
Your eyes will see strange things and your heart will utter perverse things.
34 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.
You will be as one who sleeps on the high seas or lies on the top of a mast.
35 They have stricken me, [shalt thou say, and] I was not sick; they have beaten me, [and] I felt [it] not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
“They hit me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt. They beat me, but I did not feel it. When will I wake up? I will seek another drink.”
