Proverbiorum 23
1 Quando sederis ut comedas cum principe, diligenter attende quæ apposita sunt ante faciem tuam:
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Consider well what is before thee;
2 et statue cultrum in gutture tuo, si tamen habes in potestate animam tuam,
For thou wilt put a knife to thy throat, If thou art a man given to appetite!
3 ne desideres de cibis eius, in quo est panis mendacii.
Long not for his dainties. For they are deceitful meat.
4 Noli laborare ut diteris: sed prudentiæ tuæ ponde modum.
Toil not to become rich; Cease from this, thy wisdom.
5 Ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes, quas non potes habere: quia facient sibi pennas quasi aquilæ, et volabunt in cælum.
Wilt thou let thine eyes fly toward them? They are gone! For riches truly make to themselves wings; They fly away like the eagle toward heaven.
6 Ne comedas cum homine invido, et ne desideres cibos eius:
Eat not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, And long not for his dainties;
7 quoniam in similitudinem arioli, et coniectoris, æstimat quod ignorat. Comede et bibe, dicet tibi: et mens eius non est tecum.
For as he thinketh in his heart, 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, thou shalt vomit up; And thou wilt have thrown away 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 avenger is mighty; He will maintain their cause against thee.
12 Ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum: et aures tuæ ad verba scientiæ.
Apply thy heart to 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 a child; If thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Beat him thyself with the rod, And thou shalt rescue him from the underworld. (Sheol h7585)
15 Fili mi, si sapiens fuerit animus tuus, gaudebit tecum cor meum:
My son, if thy heart be wise, My heart shall rejoice, even mine;
16 et exultabunt renes mei, cum locuta fuerint rectum labia tua.
Yea, my reins shall exult, When thy lips speak right things.
17 Non æmuletur cor tuum peccatores: sed in timore Domini esto tota die:
Let not thy heart envy sinners, But continue thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long;
18 quia habebis spem in novissimo, et præstolatio tua non auferetur.
For surely there shall be a reward, And thine expectation 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 let thy heart go forward in the way!
20 Noli esse in conviviis potatorum, nec in comessationibus eorum, qui carnes ad vescendum conferunt:
Be not thou among winebibbers, And riotous 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 will clothe a man with rags.
22 Audi patrem tuum, qui genuit te: et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua.
Hearken to thy father, who begat 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; Buy wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 Exultat gaudio pater iusti: qui sapientem genuit, lætabitur in eo.
The father of a righteous man shall greatly rejoice; Yea, he who begetteth a wise child shall have joy in him.
25 Gaudeat pater tuus, et mater tua, et exultet quæ genuit te.
Let thy father and thy mother have joy; Yea, let her that bore thee rejoice!
26 Præbe 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; Yea, a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28 Insidiatur in via quasi latro, et quos incautos viderit, interficiet.
Like a robber she lieth in wait, And increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 Cui væ? cuius patri væ? cui rixæ? cui foveæ? cui sine causa vulnera? cui suffusio oculorum?
Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who contentions? Who anxiety? Who wounds without cause? Who dimness of eyes?
30 Nonne his, qui commorantur in vino, et student calicibus epotandis?
They that tarry long at the wine; They that go in to seek 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 sparkleth in the cup, When it goeth 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 an adder.
33 Oculi tui videbunt extraneas, et cor tuum loquetur perversa.
Thine eyes will look upon strange women, And thy heart will utter perverse things.
34 Et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari, et quasi sopitus gubernator, amisso clavo:
Yea, thou shalt be as one that lieth down in the midst of the sea, And as one that lieth down 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 stricken me [[shalt thou say]], —I suffered no pain! They have beaten me, —I felt it not! When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
