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].
4¶Do not weary yourself [with the overwhelming desire] to gain wealth;
Cease from your own understanding of it. [Prov 28:20; 1 Tim 6:9, 10]
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.
6¶Do 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.
9¶Do not speak in the ears of a fool,
For he will despise the [godly] wisdom of your words. [Is 32:6]
10¶Do 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], [Deut 19:14; 27:17; Prov 22:28]
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.
13¶Do not withhold discipline from the child;
If you #23:13 Lit smite.swat him with a reed-like rod [applied with godly wisdom], he will not die.
14You shall #23:14 Lit smite.swat him with the reed-like rod
And rescue his life from Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).
15¶My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will also be glad;
16Yes, my heart will rejoice
When your lips speak right things.
17¶Do 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, [Is 5:22; Luke 21:34; Rom 13:13; Eph 5:18]
21For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And the drowsiness [of overindulgence] will clothe one with rags.
22¶Listen to your father, who sired you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 # 23:23 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.
24¶The 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].
26¶My 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.
29¶Who 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. [Prov 20:1; Eph 5:18]
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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Proverbs 23
23
1 WHEN YOU sit down to eat with a ruler, consider who and what are before you;
2 For you will put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to desire.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties, for it is deceitful food [offered with questionable motives].
4 Weary not yourself to be rich; cease from your own [human] wisdom. [Prov. 28:20; I Tim. 6:9, 10.]
5 Will you set your eyes upon wealth, when [suddenly] it is gone? For riches certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
6 Eat not the bread of him who has a hard, grudging, and envious eye, neither desire his dainty foods;
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. As one who reckons, he says to you, eat and drink, yet his heart is not with you [but is grudging the cost].
8 The morsel which you have eaten you will vomit up, and your complimentary words will be wasted.
9 Speak not in the ears of a [self-confident] fool, for he will despise the [godly] Wisdom of your words. [Isa. 32:6.]
10 Remove not the ancient landmark and enter not into the fields of the fatherless, [Deut. 19:14; 27:17; Prov. 22:28.]
11 For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you.
12 Apply your mind to instruction and correction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not discipline from the child; for if you strike and punish him with the [reedlike] rod, he will not die.
14 You shall whip him with the rod and deliver his life from Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead).
15 My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will be glad, even mine;
16 Yes, my heart will rejoice when your lips speak right things.
17 Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord all the day long.
18 For surely there is a latter end [a future and a reward], and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.
19 Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your mind in the way [of the Lord].
20 Do not associate with winebibbers; be not among them nor among gluttonous eaters of meat, [Isa. 5:22; Luke 21:34; Rom. 13:13; Eph. 5:18.]
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
22 Hearken to your father, who begot you, and despise not your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth and sell it not; not only that, but also get discernment and judgment, instruction and understanding.
24 The father of the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright, in right standing with God) shall greatly rejoice, and he who becomes the father of a wise child shall have joy in him.
25 Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her who bore you rejoice.
26 My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe and delight in my ways,
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a loose woman is a narrow pit.
28 She also lies in wait as a robber or as one waits for prey, and she increases the treacherous among men.
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness and dimness of eyes?
30 Those who tarry long at the wine, those who go to seek and try mixed wine. [Prov. 20:1; Eph. 5:18.]
31 Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the wineglass, when it goes down smoothly.
32 At the last it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.
33 [Under the influence of wine] your eyes will behold strange things [and loose women] and your mind will utter things turned the wrong way [untrue, incorrect, and petulant].
34 Yes, you will be [as unsteady] as he who lies down in the midst of the sea, and [as open to disaster] as he who lies upon the top of a mast.
35 You will say, They struck me, but I was not hurt! They beat me [as with a hammer], but I did not feel it! When shall I awake? I will crave and seek more wine again [and escape reality].
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