Proverbs 23
23
1When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.
2And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.
3Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.
4Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.
5Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven.
6Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
7Because like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee.
8The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.
9Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.
10Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:
11For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.
12Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.
13Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.
14Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell.
15My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:
16And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.
17Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:
18Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.
19Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.
20Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:
21Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
22Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.
25Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.
26My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.
27For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.
29Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.
31Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,
32But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.
33Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost.
35And thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake, and find wine again?
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Proverbs 23: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Proverbs 23
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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