Proverbs 23

23When you sit down to dine with a ruler,

consider carefully what^B is before you,

²and put a knife to your throat

if you have a big^C appetite;

³don’t desire his choice food,^b

for that food is deceptive.

⁴Don’t wear yourself out to get rich;^c

because you know better, stop!

⁵As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears,^d

for it makes wings for itself

and flies like an eagle to the sky.

⁶Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread,^De

and don’t desire his choice food,^f

⁷for it’s like someone calculating inwardly.^Eg

“Eat and drink,” he says to you,

but his heart is not with you.^h

⁸You will vomit the little you’ve eaten

and waste your pleasant words.

⁹Don’t speak to^F a fool,

for he will despise the insight of your words.ⁱ

¹⁰Don’t move an ancient boundary marker,^j

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

¹¹for their Redeemer is strong,^k

and he will champion their cause against you.^l

¹²Apply yourself to discipline

and listen to words of knowledge.

¹³Don’t withhold discipline from a youth;

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

¹⁴Punish him with a rod,

and you will rescue his life from Sheol.ⁿ

¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise,

my heart will indeed rejoice.^o

¹⁶My innermost being will celebrate

when your lips say what is right.^p

¹⁷Don’t let your heart envy sinners;^q

instead, always fear the Lord.^r

¹⁸For then you will have a future,

and your hope will not be dashed.^s

¹⁹Listen, my son, and be wise;

keep your mind on the right course.

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

or with those who gorge themselves on meat.^u

²¹For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor,

and grogginess will clothe them in rags.^v

²²Listen to your father who gave you life,

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

²³Buy—and do not sell—truth,

wisdom, instruction, and understanding.^x

²⁴The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly,

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

²⁵Let your father and mother have joy,^z

and let her who gave birth to you rejoice.

²⁶My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe my ways.

²⁷For a prostitute is a deep pit,^aa

and a wayward woman is a narrow well;

²⁸indeed, she sets an ambush like a robber^ab

and increases the number of unfaithful people.

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has conflicts? Who has complaints?

Who has wounds for no reason?^ac

Who has red eyes?

³⁰Those who linger over wine;

those who go looking for mixed wine.^ad

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

because it gleams in the cup

and goes down smoothly.^b

³²In the end it bites like a snake

and stings like a viper.

³³Your eyes will see strange things,

and you will say absurd things.^Bc

³⁴You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea

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

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

They beat me, but I didn’t know it!^d

When will I wake up?

I’ll look for another drink.”^e