Home Master Index
←Prev   Proverbs 23 as rendered by/in  Next→ 


23:1  When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you,
23:2  and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.
23:3  Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
23:4  Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.
23:5  Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
23:6  Do not eat the food of a stingy host, do not crave his delicacies;
23:7  for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. ‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
23:8  You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.
23:9  Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.
23:10  Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
23:11  for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.
23:12  Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
23:13  Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
23:14  Punish them with the rod and save them from death.
23:15  My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed;
23:16  my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
23:17  Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
23:18  There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
23:19  Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path:
23:20  do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,
23:21  for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
23:22  Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23:23  Buy the truth and do not sell it – wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
23:24  The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
23:25  May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!
23:26  My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,
23:27  for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
23:28  Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
23:29  Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
23:30  Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
23:31  Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!
23:32  In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.
23:33  Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things.
23:34  You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.
23:35  ‘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?’