23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what1 is before you,

2  and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite.

3  cDo not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food.

4  dDo not toil to acquire wealth;

ebe discerning enough to desist.

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

ffor suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven.

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

ido not desire his delicacies,

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

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

but his jheart is not with you.

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

and waste your pleasant words.

9  Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

for he will despise the good sense of your words.

10  kDo not move an ancient landmark

or enter the fields of the fatherless,

11  for their lRedeemer is strong;

he will mplead their cause against you.

12  Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear to words of knowledge.

13  Do not withhold ndiscipline from a child;

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

14  If you strike him with the rod,

you will psave his soul from Sheol.

15  qMy son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad.

16  My rinmost being4 will exult

when your lips speak swhat is right.

17  Let not your heart tenvy sinners,

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

18  Surely vthere is a future,

and your whope will not be cut off.

19  Hear, my son, and xbe wise,

and ydirect your heart in the way.

20  Be not among zdrunkards5

or among agluttonous eaters of meat,

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

and bslumber will clothe them with rags.

22  cListen to your father who gave you life,

dand do not despise your mother when she is old.

23  eBuy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

24  fThe father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

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

25  fLet your father and mother be glad;

let gher who bore you rejoice.

26  My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe6 my ways.

27  For a prostitute is ha deep pit;

ian adulteress7 is a narrow jwell.

28  kShe lies in wait like a robber

and increases the traitors among mankind.

29  lWho has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has mwounds without cause?

Who has nredness of eyes?

30  Those who otarry long over wine;

those who go to try pmixed wine.

31  Do not look at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly.

32  In the end it qbites like a serpent

and stings like an adder.

33  Your eyes will see strange things,

and your heart utter rperverse things.

34  You 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.”

24 Be not uenvious of evil men,

nor desire to be vwith them,

2  for their hearts wdevise violence,

and their lips xtalk of trouble.

3  By ywisdom a house is built,

and by understanding it is established;

4  by knowledge the rooms are filled

with all zprecious and pleasant riches.

5  aA wise man is full of strength,

and a man of knowledge enhances his might,

6  for by bwise guidance you can wage your war,

and in cabundance of counselors there is victory.

7  Wisdom is dtoo high for a fool;

in ethe gate he does not open his mouth.

8  Whoever fplans to do evil

will be called a schemer.

9  gThe devising1 of folly is sin,

and hthe scoffer is an abomination to mankind.

10  If you ifaint in the day of adversity,

your strength is small.

11  jRescue those who are being taken away to death;

hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.

12  If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”

kdoes not he who lweighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who mkeeps watch over your soul know it,

and will he not repay man naccording to his work?

13  My son, oeat honey, for it is good,

and pthe drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.

14  Know that wisdom is such to your soul;

if you find it, there will be qa future,

and your hope will not be cut off.

15  rLie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous;

do no violence to his home;

16  sfor the righteous falls tseven times and rises again,

but uthe wicked stumble in times of calamity.

17  vDo not rejoice when your enemy falls,

and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,

18  lest the Lord see it and be displeased,

and turn away his anger from him.

19  wFret not yourself because of evildoers,

and be not xenvious of the wicked,

20  for the evil man has no qfuture;

ythe lamp of the wicked will be put out.

21  My son, zfear the Lord and the king,

and do not join with those who do otherwise,

22  for disaster will arise suddenly from them,

and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?

More Sayings of the Wise

23 These also are sayings of athe wise.

bPartiality in judging is not good.

24  Whoever csays to the wicked, “You are in the right,”

dwill be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,

25  but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,

and a good blessing will come upon them.

26  Whoever gives an honest answer

kisses the lips.

27  ePrepare your work outside;

get everything ready for yourself in the field,

and after that build your house.

28  fBe not a witness against your neighbor without cause,

and do not deceive with your lips.

29  Do not say, g“I will do to him as he has done to me;

I will pay the man back for what he has done.”

30  hI passed by the field of a sluggard,

by the vineyard of a man ilacking sense,

31  and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;

the ground was covered with nettles,

and its stone jwall was broken down.

32  Then I saw and kconsidered it;

I looked and received instruction.

33  lA little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest,

34  and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.

More Proverbs of Solomon

25 These also are mproverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.

2  It is the glory of God to nconceal things,

but the glory of kings is to osearch things out.

3  As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,

so the heart of kings is punsearchable.

4  Take away qthe dross from the silver,

and rthe smith has material for a vessel;

5  take away sthe wicked from the presence of the king,

and his tthrone will be established in righteousness.

6  Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence

or stand in the place of the great,

7  for uit is better to be told, “Come up here,”

than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen

8  wdo not hastily bring into court,1

for2 what will you do in the end,

when your neighbor puts you to shame?

9  xArgue your case with your neighbor himself,

and do not reveal another’s secret,

10  lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,

and your ill repute have no end.

11  yA word fitly spoken

is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

12  Like za gold ring or an ornament of gold

is a wise reprover to aa listening ear.

13  Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

is ba faithful messenger to those who send him;

he refreshes the soul of his masters.

14  Like cclouds and wind without rain

is a man who dboasts of a gift he does not give.

15  With epatience a ruler may be persuaded,

and a soft tongue will break a bone.

16  If you have ffound honey, eat gonly enough for you,

lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.

17  Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,

lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

18  A man who hbears false witness against his neighbor

is like a war club, or ia sword, or a sharp arrow.

19  Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble

is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.

20  Whoever jsings songs to a heavy heart

is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,

and like vinegar on soda.

21  kIf your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

22  for you will heap lburning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you.

23  The north wind brings forth rain,

and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

24  mIt is better to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

25  Like cold water to na thirsty soul,

so is ogood news from a far country.

26  Like pa muddied spring or a polluted fountain

is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

27  It is qnot good to eat much honey,

nor is it glorious to rseek one’s own glory.3

28  A man swithout self-control

is like ta city broken into and left without walls.

26 Like snow in summer or urain in harvest,

so vhonor is wnot fitting for a fool.

2  Like xa sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,

ya curse that is causeless does not alight.

3  zA whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,

and aa rod for the back of fools.

4  bAnswer not a fool according to his folly,

lest you be like him yourself.

5  cAnswer a fool according to his folly,

lest he be dwise in his own eyes.

6  Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool

cuts off his own feet and edrinks violence.

7  Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless,

is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

8  Like one who binds the stone in the sling

is fone who gives honor to a fool.

9  Like ga thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard

is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

10  Like an archer who wounds everyone

is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.1

11  Like ha dog that returns to his vomit

is ia fool who repeats his folly.

12  Do you see a man who is jwise in his own eyes?

kThere is more hope for a fool than for him.

13  lThe sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!

There is a lion in the streets!”

14  As a door turns on its hinges,

so does a sluggard on his bed.

15  mThe sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.

16  The sluggard is jwiser in his own eyes

nthan seven men who can answer sensibly.

17  Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own

is like one who …