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23:1  When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
23:2  and put a knife to your throat if you possess a large appetite.
23:3  Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
23:4  Do not wear yourself out to get rich. Be wise enough to restrain yourself.
23:5  When you cast your eyes on riches, it is gone; for it surely sprouts wings and flies off into the sky like an eagle.
23:6  Do not eat the food of a stingy person, or desire his delicacies.
23:7  For as he thinks within himself, so is he. “Eat and drink”, he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
23:8  You will vomit up the morsel you ate, and will waste your pleasant words.
23:9  Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for he will disdain the wisdom of your words.
23:10  Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or encroach on fields of the fatherless,
23:11  for their redeemer is strong. He will plead their case against you.
23:12  Apply your heart to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge.
23:13  Do not withhold correction from a child. If you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
23:14  Punish him with a rod, and deliver his soul from Sheol.
23:15  My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad.
23:16  Yes, my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
23:17  Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be in the fear of Adonai.
23:18  For surely there is a future, and your hope will never be cut off.
23:19  Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart in the right way.
23:20  Do not join those drinking too much wine or gorging on meat,
23:21  for both drunkards and gluttons will be impoverished— grogginess will clothe them with rags.
23:22  Listen to your father who begot you and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23:23  Acquire truth and do not sell it, acquire wisdom, instruction and understanding.
23:24  The father of a righteous one rejoices greatly. Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him.
23:25  Let your father and your mother be glad, let she who bore you rejoice!
23:26  My son, give your heart to me, and let your eyes observe my ways.
23:27  For a prostitute is a deep pit, an adulterous woman is a narrow pit.
23:28  Indeed, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men.
23:29  Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has fights? Who has complaining? Who has bruises for no reason? Who has red eyes?
23:30  Those who linger long over wine, who go looking for mixed wine.
23:31  Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it glides down smoothly.
23:32  In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like a viper.
23:33  Your eyes will see strange things. Your heart will utter perverse things.
23:34  Then you will be like one lying down in the heart of the sea, or sprawled on the top of a mast.
23:35  “They hit me! But I was not hurt. They beat me up! But I did not feel it. When will I wake up? I will look for another drink.”