Proverbs 23

1When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Consider diligently him that is before thee;

1When you sit down to eat with a ruler, pay close attention to who is sitting in front of you.

2And put a knife to thy throat, If thou be a man given to appetite.

2If you have a big appetite, control yourself as if you were holding a knife to your own throat.

3Be not desirous of his dainties; Seeing they are deceitful food.

3Do not crave his fancy food, for it is served with hidden motives.

4Weary not thyself to be rich; Cease from thine own wisdom.

4Do not wear yourself out trying to get rich; be smart enough to know when to stop.

5Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? Forrichescertainly make themselves wings, Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.

5Will you chase after wealth? It can disappear in the blink of an eye. It grows wings like an eagle and flies away toward the sky.

6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, Neither desire thou his dainties:

6Do not eat the food of a stingy person, and do not crave his delicacies.

7For as he thinketh within himself, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee.

7For he is always calculating the cost in his mind. 'Eat and drink!' he says to you, but he doesn't really mean it.

8The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, And lose thy sweet words.

8You will vomit up the little bit you ate, and your polite conversation will be wasted.

9Speak not in the hearing of a fool; For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

9Do not bother speaking to a fool, because he will only despise the wisdom of your words.

10Remove not the ancient landmark; And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

10Do not move ancient property markers or take over land that belongs to orphans.

11For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their cause against thee.

11For their Protector is strong; he will take their side and bring his case against you.

12Apply thy heart unto instruction, And thine ears to the words of knowledge.

12Commit your heart to instruction and listen closely to words of knowledge.

13Withhold not correction from the child; Forif thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.

13Do not hold back discipline from a child; if you punish them with a rod, they will not die.

14Thou shalt beat him with the rod, And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.

14If you discipline them with a rod, you will save them from death.

15My son, if thy heart be wise, My heart will be glad, even mine:

15My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will be very happy.

16Yea, my heart will rejoice, When thy lips speak right things.

16I will celebrate deep within when you speak what is right.

17Let not thy heart envy sinners; Butbe thouin the fear of Jehovah all the day long:

17Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always live in the fear of the LORD.

18For surely there is a reward; And thy hope shall not be cut off.

18Then you will surely have a future, and your hope will not be disappointed.

19Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And guide thy heart in the way.

19Listen, my son, and be wise; keep your heart on the right path.

20Be not among winebibbers, Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:

20Do not hang out with people who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.

21For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; And drowsiness will clothea manwith rags.

21For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor, and laziness will dress them in rags.

22Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she is old.

22Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

23Buy the truth, and sell it not; Yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

23Invest in the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and understanding.

24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.

24The father of a godly person has great reason to be glad; whoever has a wise child will find joy in them.

25Let thy father and thy mother be glad, And let her that bare thee rejoice.

25So let your father and mother be happy; let the woman who gave birth to you rejoice.

26My son, give me thy heart; And let thine eyes delight in my ways.

26My son, give me your full attention, and let your eyes follow my example.

27For a harlot is a deep ditch; And a foreign woman is a narrow pit.

27For a prostitute is like a deep pit, and a loose woman is like a narrow well.

28Yea, she lieth in wait as a robber, And increaseth the treacherous among men.

28She hides and waits like a robber, and she leads many men to be unfaithful.

29Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?

29Who has misery? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

30They that tarry long at the wine; They that go to seek out mixed wine.

30Those who linger long over wine and those who go looking for mixed drinks.

31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, When it sparkleth in the cup, When it goeth down smoothly:

31Do not stare at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.

32At the last it biteth like a serpent, And stingeth like an adder.

32In the end, it bites like a snake and stings like a poisonous viper.

33Thine eyes shall behold strange things, And thy heart shall utter perverse things.

33Your eyes will see strange hallucinations, and your mind will come up with twisted things.

34Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.

34You will feel like someone sleeping on the rolling sea, or like someone balanced on top of a ship's mast.

35They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt; They have beaten me, and I felt it not: When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

35You will say, 'They hit me, but I didn't feel it! They beat me, but I didn't even know it! When can I wake up so I can find another drink?'