Proverbs 23
23
1When thou sittest to eat with a ruler,
Consider diligently him that is before thee;
2And put a knife to thy throat,
If thou be a man given to appetite.
3Be not desirous of his dainties;
Seeing they are deceitful food.
4Weary not thyself to be rich;
Cease from thine own wisdom.
5Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings,
Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye,
Neither desire thou his dainties:
7For as he thinketh within himself, so is he:
Eat and drink, saith he to thee;
But his heart is not with thee.
8The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up,
And lose thy sweet words.
9Speak not in the hearing of a fool;
For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10Remove not the ancient landmark;
And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11For their Redeemer is strong;
He will plead their cause against thee.
12Apply thy heart unto instruction,
And thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13Withhold not correction from the child;
For if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
14Thou shalt beat him with the rod,
And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.
15My son, if thy heart be wise,
My heart will be glad, even mine:
16Yea, my heart will rejoice,
When thy lips speak right things.
17Let not thy heart envy sinners;
But be thou in the fear of Jehovah all the day long:
18For surely there is a reward;
And thy hope shall not be cut off.
19Hear thou, my son, and be wise,
And guide thy heart in the way.
20Be not among winebibbers,
Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:
21For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty;
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
22Hearken unto thy father that begat thee,
And despise not thy mother when she is old.
23Buy the truth, and sell it not;
Yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.
25Let thy father and thy mother be glad,
And let her that bare thee rejoice.
26My son, give me thy heart;
And let thine eyes delight in my ways.
27For a harlot is a deep ditch;
And a foreign woman is a narrow pit.
28Yea, she lieth in wait as a robber,
And increaseth the treacherous among men.
29Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions?
Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause?
Who hath redness of eyes?
30They that tarry long at the wine;
They that go to seek out mixed wine.
31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,
When it sparkleth in the cup,
When it goeth down smoothly:
32At the last it biteth like a serpent,
And stingeth like an adder.
33Thine eyes shall behold strange things,
And thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34Yea, 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.
35They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, and I felt it not:
When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
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Proverbs 23: ASV
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Proverbs 23
23
On Life and Conduct
1When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is [set] before you;
2For you will put a knife to your throat
If you are a man of great appetite.
3Do not desire his delicacies,
For it is deceptive food [offered to you with questionable motives].
4Do not weary yourself [with the overwhelming desire] to gain wealth;
Cease from your own understanding of it.
5When you set your eyes on wealth, it is [suddenly] gone.
For wealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies to the heavens.
6Do not eat the bread of a selfish man,
Or desire his delicacies;
7For as he thinks in his heart, so is he [in behavior—one who manipulates].
He says to you, “Eat and drink,”
Yet his heart is not with you [but it is begrudging the cost].
8The morsel which you have eaten you will vomit up,
And you will waste your compliments.
9Do not speak in the ears of a fool,
For he will despise the [godly] wisdom of your words.
10Do not move the ancient landmark [at the boundary of the property]
And do not go into the fields of the fatherless [to take what is theirs],
11For their Redeemer is strong and mighty;
He will plead their case against you.
12Apply your heart to discipline
And your ears to words of knowledge.
13Do not withhold discipline from the child;
If you #Lit smite.swat him with a reed-like rod [applied with godly wisdom], he will not die.
14You shall #Lit smite.swat him with the reed-like rod
And rescue his life from Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).
15My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will also be glad;
16Yes, my heart will rejoice
When your lips speak right things.
17Do not let your heart envy sinners [who live godless lives and have no hope of salvation],
But [continue to] live in the [reverent, worshipful] fear of the Lord day by day.
18Surely there is a future [and a reward],
And your hope and expectation will not be cut off.
19Listen, my son, and be wise,
And direct your heart in the way [of the Lord].
20Do not associate with heavy drinkers of wine,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat,
21For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And the drowsiness [of overindulgence] will clothe one with rags.
22Listen to your father, who sired you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 # The ancient rabbis routinely assumed “truth” to refer to the Torah (Law), and they interpreted the first part of this command to mean that a student should pay a teacher to teach him the Torah if he can find no one to teach him for free. As for the second part, they said that if the student had to pay to learn, he should not view this as grounds to charge for teaching others, but should teach the Torah for free. Buy 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 child will have joy in him.
25Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her who gave birth to you rejoice [in your wise and godly choices].
26My son, give me your heart
And let your eyes delight in my ways,
27For a prostitute is a deep pit,
And an immoral woman is a narrow well.
28She lurks and lies in wait like a robber [who waits for prey],
And she increases the faithless among men.
29Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Whose eyes are red and dim?
30Those who linger long over wine,
Those who go to taste mixed wine.
31Do not look at wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the glass,
When it goes down smoothly.
32At the last it bites like a serpent
And stings like a viper.
33Your [drunken] eyes will see strange things
And your mind will utter perverse things [untrue things, twisted things].
34And you will be [as unsteady] as one who lies down in the middle of the sea,
And [as vulnerable to disaster] as one who lies down on the top of a ship’s mast, saying,
35“They struck me, but I was not hurt!
They beat me, but I did not feel it!
When will I wake up?
I will seek more wine.”
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