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23:1  When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you,
23:2  and put a knife to your throat if you have a big appetite;
23:3  don’t desire his choice food, for that food is deceptive.
23:4  Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; because you know better, stop!
23:5  As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
23:6  Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread, and don’t desire his choice food,
23:7  for it’s like someone calculating inwardly. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
23:8  You will vomit the little you’ve eaten and waste your pleasant words.
23:9  Don’t speak to a fool, for he will despise the insight of your words.
23:10  Don’t move an ancient boundary marker, and don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
23:11  for their Redeemer is strong, and he will champion their cause against you.
23:12  Apply yourself to discipline and listen to words of knowledge.
23:13  Don’t withhold discipline from a youth; if you punish him with a rod, he will not die.
23:14  Punish him with a rod, and you will rescue his life from Sheol.
23:15  My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will indeed rejoice.
23:16  My innermost being will celebrate when your lips say what is right.
23:17  Don’t let your heart envy sinners; instead, always fear the Lord.
23:18  For then you will have a future, and your hope will not be dashed.
23:19  Listen, my son, and be wise; keep your mind on the right course.
23:20  Don’t associate with those who drink too much wine or with those who gorge themselves on meat.
23:21  For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor, and grogginess will clothe them in rags.
23:22  Listen to your father who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
23:23  Buy—and do not sell—truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
23:24  The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly, and one who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
23:25  Let your father and mother have joy, and let her who gave birth to you rejoice.
23:26  My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.
23:27  For a prostitute is a deep pit, and a wayward woman is a narrow well;
23:28  indeed, she sets an ambush like a robber and increases the number of unfaithful people.
23:29  Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has conflicts? Who has complaints? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has red eyes?
23:30  Those who linger over wine; those who go looking for mixed wine.
23:31  Don’t gaze at wine because it is red, because it gleams in the cup and goes down smoothly.
23:32  In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
23:33  Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say absurd things.
23:34  You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast.
23:35  “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I didn’t know it! When will I wake up? I’ll look for another drink.”