23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,

consider carefully what w is before you,

2 and put a knife to your throat

if you have a big x appetite;

3 don’t desire his choice food, y

for that food is deceptive.

4 Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; z

stop giving your attention to it.

5 As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, a

for it makes wings for itself

and flies like an eagle to the sky.

6 Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread, b c

and don’t desire his choice food, d

7 for it’s like someone calculating inwardly. e f

“Eat and drink,” he says to you,

but his heart is not with you. g

8 You will vomit the little you’ve eaten

and waste your pleasant words.

9 Don’t speak to h a fool,

for he will despise the insight of your words. i

10 Don’t move an ancient boundary marker, j

and don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

11 for their Redeemer is strong, k

and He will take up their case against you. l

12 Apply yourself to discipline

and listen to words of knowledge.

13 Don’t withhold discipline from a youth;

if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. m

14 Strike him with a rod,

and you will rescue his life from * Sheol. n

15 My son, if your heart is wise,

my heart will indeed rejoice. o

16 My innermost being will cheer

when your lips say what is right. p

17 Don’t let your heart envy sinners; q

instead, always * fear the Lord. r

18 For then you will have a future,

and your hope will never fade. s

19 Listen, my son, and be wise;

keep your mind on the right course.

20 Don’t associate with those who drink too much wine t

or with those who gorge themselves on meat. u

21 For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor,

and grogginess will clothe them in rags. v

22 Listen to your father who gave you life,

and don’t despise your mother when w she is old. x

23 Buy—and do not sell—truth,

wisdom, instruction, and understanding. y

24 The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly,

and one who fathers a wise son will delight in him. z

25 Let your father and mother have joy, a

and let her who gave birth to you rejoice.

26 My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe my ways.

27 For a prostitute is a deep pit, b

and a stranger is a narrow well;

28 indeed, she sets an ambush like a robber c

and increases those among men who are unfaithful.

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has conflicts? Who has complaints?

Who has wounds for no reason? d

Who has red eyes?

30 Those who linger over wine,

those who go looking for mixed wine. e

31 Don’t gaze at wine because it is red, f

when it gleams in the cup

and goes down smoothly. g

32 In the end it bites like a snake

and stings like a viper.

33 Your eyes will see strange things,

and you will say absurd things. h i

34 You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea

or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast.

35 “They struck me, but j I feel no pain!

They beat me, but I didn’t know it! k

When will I wake up?

I’ll look for another drink.” l