Proverbs 23

23When you sit down to dine with a ruler,

consider carefully what ^wis before you,

²and put a knife to your throat

if you have a big ^xappetite;

³don’t desire his choice food, ^y

for that food is deceptive.

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

stop giving your attention to it.

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

for it makes wings for itself

and flies like an eagle to the sky.

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

and don’t desire his choice food, ^d

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

“Eat and drink,” he says to you,

but his heart is not with you. ^g

⁸You will vomit the little you’ve eaten

and waste your pleasant words.

⁹Don’t speak to ^ha 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 take up their case against you. ^l

¹²Apply yourself to discipline

and listen to words of knowledge.

¹³Don’t withhold discipline from a youth;

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

¹⁴Strike 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 cheer

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 never fade. ^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 ^wshe is old. ^x

²³Buy—and do not sell—truth,

wisdom, instruction, and understanding. ^y

²⁴The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly,

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

²⁵Let your father and mother have joy, ^a

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, ^b

and a stranger is a narrow well;

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

and increases those among men who are unfaithful.

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has conflicts? Who has complaints?

Who has wounds for no reason? ^d

Who has red eyes?

³⁰Those who linger over wine,

those who go looking for mixed wine. ^e

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

when it gleams in the cup

and goes down smoothly. ^g

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. ^hi

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 ^jI 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