Proverbs 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: AMP

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Proverbs 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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