Proverbs 23:19-35

Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way [of the LORD]. Do not associate with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat, [Is 5:22; Luke 21:34; Rom 13:13; Eph 5:18] For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And the drowsiness [of overindulgence] will clothe one with rags. ¶Listen to your father, who sired you, And do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy truth, and do not sell it; Get wisdom and instruction and understanding. ¶The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who sires a wise child will have joy in him. Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who gave birth to you rejoice [in your wise and godly choices]. ¶My son, give me your heart And let your eyes delight in my ways, For a prostitute is a deep pit, And an immoral woman is a narrow well. She lurks and lies in wait like a robber [who waits for prey], And she increases the faithless among men. ¶Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Whose eyes are red and dim? Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine. [Prov 20:1; Eph 5:18] Do not look at wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the glass, When it goes down smoothly. At the last it bites like a serpent And stings like a viper. Your [drunken] eyes will see strange things And your mind will utter perverse things [untrue things, twisted things]. And 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, “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.”