Proverbs 23
23
1When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what#23.1 Or who is before you;
2and put a knife to your throat
if you are a man given to appetite.
3Do not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
4Do not toil to acquire wealth;
be wise enough to desist.
5When your eyes light upon it, it is gone;
for suddenly it takes to itself wings,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.
6Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;
do not desire his delicacies;
7for he is like one who is inwardly reckoning.#23.7 Heb obscure
“Eat and drink!” he says to you;
but his heart is not with you.
8You will vomit up the morsels which you have eaten,
and waste your pleasant words.
9Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10Do not remove an ancient landmark
or enter the fields of the fatherless;
11for their Redeemer is strong;
he will plead their cause against you.
12Apply your mind to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.
13Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
14If you beat him with the rod
you will save his life from Sheol.
15My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will be glad.
16My soul will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.
17Let not your heart envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.
18Surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
19Hear, my son, and be wise,
and direct your mind in the way.
20Be not among winebibbers,
or among gluttonous eaters of meat;
21for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
22Hearken to your father who begot you,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23Buy truth, and do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
he who begets a wise son will be glad in him.
25Let your father and mother be glad,
let her who bore you rejoice.
26My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe#23.26 Another reading is delight in my ways.
27For a harlot is a deep pit;
an adventuress is a narrow well.
28She lies in wait like a robber
and increases the faithless among men.
29Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
30Those who tarry long over wine,
those who go to try mixed wine.
31Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
32At the last it bites like a serpent,
and stings like an adder.
33Your eyes will see strange things,
and your mind utter perverse things.
34You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.#23.34 Heb obscure
35“They struck me,” you will say,#23.35 Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb lacks you will say “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I will seek another drink.”
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
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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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation