Proverbs 23
23
Saying 7
1When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what#23:1 Or who is before you,
2and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.
Saying 8
4Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Saying 9
6Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;
7for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.#23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.
Saying 10
9Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.
Saying 11
10Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11for their Defender is strong;
he will take up their case against you.
Saying 12
12Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Saying 13
13Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.
Saying 14
15My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad indeed;
16my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.
Saying 15
17Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.
Saying 16
19Listen, my son, and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
20Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
21for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Saying 17
22Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23Buy the truth and do not sell it—
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
24The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
25May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!
Saying 18
26My son, give me your heart
and let your eyes delight in my ways,
27for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28Like a bandit she lies in wait
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
Saying 19
29Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30Those who linger over wine,
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
32In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
33Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
35“They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”
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Proverbs 23: NIV
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Proverbs 23
23
Saying Seven
1When you sit to eat with a ruler,
consider diligently what is before you;
2and put a knife to your throat,
if you are a man given to appetite.
3#Pr 23:6; Ps 141:4 Be not desirous of his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
Saying Eight
4#Pr 28:20; 3:5 Do not labor to be rich;
cease from your own wisdom.
5#Pr 27:24; 1Ti 6:17 Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Saying Nine
6#Ps 141:4; Dt 15:9 Do not eat the bread of him who has an evil eye,
neither desire his delicacies;
7#Ps 12:2; Jdg 16:15 for as he thinks in his heart,
so is he.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,
and lose your sweet words.
Saying Ten
9#Mt 7:6 Do not speak in the ears of a fool,
for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
Saying Eleven
10#Pr 22:28; Dt 19:14 Do not remove the old landmark,
nor enter the fields of the fatherless;
11#Pr 22:23; Job 19:25 for their Redeemer is mighty;
He will plead their cause with you.
Saying Twelve
12Apply your heart to instruction,
and your ears to the words of knowledge.
Saying Thirteen
13#Pr 13:24; 19:18 Do not withhold correction from a child,
for if you beat him with the rod, he will not die.
14#1Co 5:5 You shall beat him with the rod,
and deliver his soul from death.
Saying Fourteen
15#Pr 29:3; 23:24–25 My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart will rejoice—even mine.
16#Pr 8:6 Yes, my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak right things.
Saying Fifteen
17#Pr 28:14; 24:1 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of the Lord all day long;
18#Ps 9:18; Pr 24:14 for surely there is an end,
and your expectation will not be cut off.
Saying Sixteen
19Hear, my son, and be wise;
and guide your heart in the way.
20#Isa 5:22; Ro 13:13 Do not be among winebibbers,
among riotous eaters of meat;
21#Pr 21:17; Dt 21:20 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
Saying Seventeen
22#Pr 1:8; 30:17 Listen to your father who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23#Mt 13:44 Buy the truth, and do not sell it,
also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24#Pr 10:1; 15:20 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
and he who fathers a wise child will have joy of him.
25#Pr 17:25 Your father and your mother will be glad,
and she who bore you will rejoice.
Saying Eighteen
26My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe my ways.
27#Pr 22:14 For a prostitute is a deep ditch,
and a seductress is a narrow pit.
28#Pr 7:12; Ecc 7:26 She also lies in wait as for a prey,
and increases the transgressors among men.
Saying Nineteen
29#Ge 49:12; Pr 23:21 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has babbling?
Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
30#Ps 75:8; Isa 5:11 Those who tarry long at the wine,
those who go to seek mixed wine.
31Do not look on the wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it swirls around smoothly;
32at the last it bites like a serpent,
and stings like a viper.
33Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart will utter perverse things.
34Yes, you will be as he who lies down in the midst of the sea,
or as he who lies upon the top of a mast.
35#Isa 56:12; Jer 5:3 “They have stricken me,” you will say, “and I was not sick;
they have beaten me, and I did not feel it.
When will I awake?
I will seek it yet again.”
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