Proverbs 23:20–34

²⁰Don’t associate with people who drink too much wine or stuff themselves with food. ²¹Drunkards and gluttons will be reduced to poverty. If all you do is eat and sleep, you will soon be wearing rags.

²²Listen to your father; without him you would not exist. When your mother is old, show her your appreciation.

²³Truth, wisdom, learning, and good sense—these are worth paying for, but too valuable for you to sell.

²⁴A righteous man’s father has good reason to be happy. You can take pride in a wise son.

²⁵Make your father and mother proud of you; give your mother that happiness.

²⁶Pay close attention, son, and let my life be your example. ²⁷Prostitutes and immoral women are a deadly trap. ²⁸They wait for you like robbers and cause many men to be unfaithful.

^29–30Show me someone who drinks too much, who has to try out some new drink, and I will show you someone miserable and sorry for himself, always causing trouble and always complaining. His eyes are bloodshot, and he has bruises that could have been avoided. ³¹Don’t let wine tempt you, even though it is rich red, though it sparkles in the cup, and it goes down smoothly. ³²The next morning you will feel as if you had been bitten by a poisonous snake. ³³Weird sights will appear before your eyes, and you will not be able to think or speak clearly. ³⁴You will feel as if you were out on the ocean, sea-sick, swinging high up in the rigging of a tossing ship.