Proverbs 23

23When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what¹ is before you,

²and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite.

^3cDo not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food.

^4dDo not toil to acquire wealth;

^ebe discerning enough to desist.

⁵When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

^ffor suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven.

^6gDo not eat the bread of a man who is ^hstingy;²

ⁱdo not desire his delicacies,

⁷for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.³

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

but his ^jheart is not with you.

⁸You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,

and waste your pleasant words.

⁹Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

for he will despise the good sense of your words.

^10kDo not move an ancient landmark

or enter the fields of the fatherless,

¹¹for their ^lRedeemer is strong;

he will ^mplead their cause against you.

¹²Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear to words of knowledge.

¹³Do not withhold ⁿdiscipline from a child;

^oif you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

¹⁴If you strike him with the rod,

you will ^psave his soul from Sheol.

^15qMy son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad.

¹⁶My ^rinmost being⁴ will exult

when your lips speak ^swhat is right.

¹⁷Let not your heart ^tenvy sinners,

but continue in ^uthe fear of the Lord all the day.

¹⁸Surely ^vthere is a future,

and your ^whope will not be cut off.

¹⁹Hear, my son, and ^xbe wise,

and ^ydirect your heart in the way.

²⁰Be not among ^zdrunkards⁵

or among ^agluttonous eaters of meat,

²¹for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and ^bslumber will clothe them with rags.

^22cListen to your father who gave you life,

^dand do not despise your mother when she is old.

^23eBuy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

^24fThe father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

^25fLet your father and mother be glad;

let ^gher who bore you rejoice.

²⁶My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe⁶ my ways.

²⁷For a prostitute is ^ha deep pit;

ⁱan adulteress⁷ is a narrow ^jwell.

^28kShe lies in wait like a robber

and increases the traitors among mankind.

^29lWho has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has ^mwounds without cause?

Who has ⁿredness of eyes?

³⁰Those who ^otarry long over wine;

those who go to try ^pmixed wine.

³¹Do not look at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly.

³²In the end it ^qbites like a serpent

and stings like an adder.

³³Your eyes will see strange things,

and your heart utter ^rperverse things.

³⁴You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

like one who lies on the top of a mast.⁸

³⁵“They ^sstruck me,” you will say,⁹ “but I was not hurt;

they beat me, but I did not feel it.

When shall I awake?

I ^tmust have another drink.”