Proverbiorum 23
1 Quando sederis ut comedas cum principe, diligenter attende quæ apposita sunt ante faciem tuam:
When you sit to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is 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 are a person who likes to eat a lot of food.
3 ne desideres de cibis eius, in quo est panis mendacii.
Do not crave his delicacies, for it is the food of lies.
4 Noli laborare ut diteris: sed prudentiæ tuæ pone modum.
Do not work too hard to gain wealth; be wise enough to know when to stop.
5 Ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes, quas non potes habere: quia facient sibi pennas quasi aquilæ, et volabunt in cælum.
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 Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos eius:
Do not eat the food of one with an evil eye— and do not crave his delicacies,
7 quoniam in similitudinem arioli, et coniectoris, æstimat quod ignorat. Comede et bibe, dicet tibi: et mens eius non est tecum.
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 Cibos, quos comederas, evomes: et perdes pulchros sermones tuos.
You will vomit up the little you have eaten and you will have wasted your compliments.
9 In auribus insipientium ne loquaris: qui despicient doctrinam eloquii tui.
Do not speak in the hearing of 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 orphans,
11 Propinquus enim illorum fortis est: et ipse iudicabit contra te causam illorum.
for their Redeemer is strong and he will plead their case against you.
12 Ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum: et aures tuæ ad verba scientiæ.
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 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 Fili mi, si sapiens fuerit animus tuus, gaudebit tecum cor meum:
My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad;
16 et exultabunt renes mei, cum locuta fuerint rectum labia tua.
my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Non æmuletur cor tuum peccatores: sed in timore Domini esto tota die:
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of Yahweh all the day.
18 quia habebis spem in novissimo, et præstolatio tua non auferetur.
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.
Hear—you!—my son, and be wise and direct your heart in the way.
20 Noli esse in conviviis potatorum, nec in comessationibus eorum, qui carnes ad vescendum conferunt:
Do not associate with drunkards, or with gluttonous eaters of meat,
21 quia vacantes potibus, et dantes symbola consumentur, et vestietur pannis dormitatio.
for the drunkard and the glutton become poor and slumber will clothe them with rags.
22 Audi patrem tuum, qui genuit te: et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua.
Listen to your father who begot you and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Veritatem eme, et noli vendere sapientiam, et doctrinam, et intelligentiam.
Buy the truth, but do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 Exultat gaudio pater iusti: qui sapientem genuit, lætabitur in eo.
The father of the righteous person will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise child will be glad in him.
25 Gaudeat pater tuus, et mater tua, et exultet quæ genuit te.
Let your father and your mother be glad and let her who bore you rejoice.
26 Præbe fili mi cor tuum mihi: et oculi tui vias meas custodiant.
My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe my ways.
27 Fovea enim profunda est meretrix: et puteus angustus, aliena.
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an immoral woman is a narrow well.
28 Insidiatur in via quasi latro, et quos incautos viderit, interficiet.
She lies in wait like a robber and she increases the number of the treacherous among humanity.
29 Cui væ? cuius patri væ? cui rixæ? cui foveæ? cui sine causa vulnera? cui suffusio oculorum?
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has fights? Who has complaining? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Nonne his, qui commorantur in vino, et student calicibus epotandis?
Those who linger over wine, those who try the mixed wine.
31 Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit, cum splenduerit in vitro color eius: ingreditur blande,
Do not look at the wine when 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 last it bites like a serpent and it stings like an adder.
33 Oculi tui videbunt extraneas, et cor tuum loquetur perversa.
Your eyes will see strange things and your heart will utter perverse things.
34 Et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari, et quasi sopitus gubernator, amisso clavo:
You will be as one who sleeps on the high seas or lies 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 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.”
