Proverbs 23:20–34

²⁰Do not be with ^aheavy drinkers of wine,

Or with ^bgluttonous eaters of meat;

²¹For the ^aheavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,

And ^bdrowsiness will clothe them with rags.

^22aListen to your father who begot you,

And ^bdo not despise your mother when she is old.

^23aBuy truth, and do not sell it,

Get wisdom and discipline and understanding.

²⁴The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,

And ^ahe who begets a wise son will be glad in him.

²⁵Let your ^afather and your mother be glad,

And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

^26aGive your heart to me, my son,

And let your eyes ^1bdelight in my ways.

²⁷For a harlot is a ^adeep pit

And ¹a ^bforeign woman is a narrow well.

²⁸Surely she ^alies in wait as a robber,

And adds to the treacherous among men.

²⁹Who has ^awoe? Who has sorrow?

Who has contentions? Who has complaining?

Who has wounds without cause?

Who has redness of eyes?

³⁰Those who ^alinger long over wine,

Those who go to search out ^bmixed wine.

³¹Do not look on the wine when it glistens red,

When it ¹sparkles in the cup,

When it ^agoes down smoothly;

³²At the end—like a serpent it ^abites,

And like a ^bviper it stings.

³³Your eyes will see strange things

And your heart will ^aspeak perverse things.

³⁴And you will be like one who lies down in the heart of the sea,

Or like one who lies down on the top of a ¹mast.