Proverbs 23
Proverbs 23
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 great 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 glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
23:6
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
23:7
for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
23:8
You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
23:9
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
23:10
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
23:11
for their Redeemer 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; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
23:14
Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.
23:15
My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
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 continue in the fear of the LORD.
23:18
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
23:19
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
23:20
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
23:21
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe 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
Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
23:24
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
23:25
May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
23:26
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
23:27
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
23:28
Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.
23:29
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
23:30
Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
23:31
Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles 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 your mind will utter perversities.
23:34
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast:
23:35
“They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”