Proverbs 23
23
On Life and Conduct
1When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you,
2And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man of great appetite.
3Do not desire his delicacies,
For it is deceptive food.
4Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,
Cease from your consideration of it.
5When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.
For wealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
6Do not eat the bread of a selfish man,
Or desire his delicacies;
7For as he thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!”
But his heart is not with you.
8You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten,
And waste your compliments.
9Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10Do not move the ancient boundary
Or go into the fields of the fatherless,
11For their Redeemer is strong;
He will plead their case against you.
12Apply your heart to discipline
And your ears to words of knowledge.
13Do not hold back discipline from the child,
Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
14You shall strike him with the rod
And rescue his soul from Sheol.
15My son, if your heart is wise,
My own heart also will be glad;
16And my inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak what is right.
17Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But live in the fear of the Lord always.
18Surely there is a future,
And your hope will not be cut off.
19Listen, my son, and be wise,
And direct your heart in the way.
20Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
21For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.
22Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23Buy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who sires a wise son will be glad in him.
25Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.
26Give me your heart, my son,
And let your eyes delight in my ways.
27For a harlot is a deep pit
And an adulterous woman is a narrow well.
28Surely she lurks as a robber,
And increases the faithless among men.
29Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
30Those who linger long over wine,
Those who go to taste mixed wine.
31Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it goes down smoothly;
32At the last it bites like a serpent
And stings like a viper.
33Your eyes will see strange things
And your mind will utter perverse things.
34And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a #Or lookoutmast.
35“They struck me, but I did not become ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When shall I awake?
I will seek another drink.”
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Proverbs 23: NASB1995
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NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®
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Proverbs 23
23
1When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
pay close attention to what is in front of you,
2and put a knife to your throat if you have a big appetite.
3Do not crave his delicacies,
because this is food that deceives you.
4Do not wear yourself out getting rich.
Be smart enough to stop.
5Will you catch only a fleeting glimpse of wealth before it is gone?
It makes wings for itself like an eagle flying into the sky.
6Do not eat the food of one who is stingy,
and do not crave his delicacies.
7As he calculates the cost to himself, this is what he does:
He tells you, “Eat and drink,”
but he doesn’t really mean it.
8You will vomit the little bit you have eaten
and spoil your pleasant conversation.
9Do not talk directly to a fool,
because he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10Do not move an ancient boundary marker
or enter fields that belong to orphans,
11because the one who is responsible for them is strong.
He will plead their case against you.
Learning from Your Father
12Live a more disciplined life,
and listen carefully to words of knowledge.
13Do not hesitate to discipline a child.
If you spank him, he will not die.
14Spank him yourself,
and you will save his soul from hell.
15My son,
if you have a wise heart,
my heart will rejoice as well.
16My heart rejoices when you speak what is right.
17Do not envy sinners in your heart.
Instead, continue to fear the Lord.
18There is indeed a future,
and your hope will never be cut off.
19My son,
listen, be wise,
and keep your mind going in the right direction.
20Do not associate with those who drink too much wine,
with those who eat too much meat,
21because both a drunk and a glutton will become poor.
Drowsiness will dress a person in rags.
22Listen to your father since you are his son,
and do not despise your mother because she is old.
23Buy truth (and do not sell it),
⌞that is,⌟ buy wisdom, discipline, and understanding.
24A righteous person’s father will certainly rejoice.
Someone who has a wise son will enjoy him.
25May your father and your mother be glad.
May she who gave birth to you rejoice.
26My son,
give me your heart.
Let your eyes find happiness in my ways.
27A prostitute is a deep pit.
A loose woman is a narrow well.
28She is like a robber, lying in ambush.
She spreads unfaithfulness throughout society.
29Who has trouble?
Who has misery?
Who has quarrels?
Who has a complaint?
Who has wounds for no reason?
Who has bloodshot eyes?
30Those who drink glass after glass of wine
and mix it with everything.
31Do not look at wine
because it is red,
because it sparkles in the cup,
because it goes down smoothly.
32Later it bites like a snake
and strikes like a poisonous snake.
33Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mouth will say embarrassing things.
34You will be like someone lying down in the middle of the sea
or like someone lying down on top of a ship’s mast, saying,
35“They strike me, but I feel no pain.
They beat me, but I’m not aware of it.
Whenever I wake up, I’m going to look for another drink.”
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