Proverbs 23:15–26

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^23:15My child,²⁶ if your heart is wise,

then my heart also will be glad;

^23:16my soul²⁷ will rejoice

when your lips speak what is right.²⁸

^23:17Do not let your heart envy²⁹ sinners,

but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord³⁰ all the time.

^23:18For surely there is a future,³¹

and your hope will not be cut off.³²

^23:19Listen, my child,³³ and be wise,

and guide your heart on the right way.

^23:20Do not spend time³⁴ among drunkards,³⁵

among those who eat too much³⁶ meat,

^23:21because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished,

and drowsiness³⁷ clothes them with rags.³⁸

^23:22Listen to your father who begot you,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

^23:23Acquire³⁹ truth and do not sell it—

wisdom, and discipline, and understanding.

^23:24The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly;⁴⁰

whoever fathers a wise child⁴¹ will have joy in him.

^23:25May your father and your mother have joy;

may she who bore you rejoice.⁴²

^23:26Give me your heart, my son,⁴³

and let your eyes observe my ways;

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Footnotes

26 Heb “my son,” although the context does not limit this exhortation to male children.
27 Heb “my kidneys”; in biblical Hebrew the term was used for the innermost being, the soul, the central location of the passions. Cf. , “my inmost being.”
28 This twelfth saying simply observes that children bring joy to their parents when they demonstrate wisdom. The quatrain is arranged in a chiastic structure (:B’A’): The first line (A) speaks of wisdom in the child, and it is paired with the last line (A’) which speaks of the child’s saying what is right. In between these brackets are two lines (B and B’) concerning joy to the parent.
29 The verb in this line is אַל־יְקַנֵּא (’al-yéqanne’), the Piel jussive negated. The verb means “to be jealous, to be zealous”; it describes passionate intensity for something. In English, if the object is illegitimate, it is called “envy”; if it is correct, it is called “zeal.” Here the warning is not to envy the sinners. The second colon could use the verb in the positive sense to mean “but rather let your passion burn for the fear of the Lord.”
30 Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”
31 Heb “end” (so ); “a reward.”
32 The saying is an understatement; far from being cut off, the “hope” will be realized in the end. So this saying, the thirteenth, advises people to be zealous for the fear of the Lord, their religion, rather than for anything that sinners have to offer.
33 Heb “my son,” but the immediate context does not limit this to male children.
34 Heb “do not be among,” but in the sense of “associate with” (); “join” (); “consort … with” ().
35 The verb סָבָא (sava’) means “to imbibe; to drink largely.” The participial construction here, סֹבְאֵי־יַיִן (sov’e-yayin), describes “drunkards” (cf. ) which is somewhat stronger than saying it refers to “people who drink too much” (cf. , ).
36 The verb זָלַל (zalal) means “to be light; to be worthless; to make light of.” Making light of something came to mean “to be lavish with; to squander,” especially with regard to food. So it describes “gluttons” primarily; but in the expression there is also room for the person who wastes a lot of food as well.
37 Here “drowsiness” is a metonymy of effect or adjunct, put for the drunkenness and gluttony that causes it. So all of it, the drunkenness and the drowsiness that comes from it, brings on the ruin (cf. “you will end up poor”). Likewise, “rags” is a metonymy of adjunct, associated with the poverty brought on by a dissolute lifestyle.
38 This is the fourteenth saying, warning about poor associations. Drunkenness and gluttony represent the epitome of the lack of discipline. In the they are used to measure a stubborn and rebellious son ( Sanhedrin 8). W. G. Plaut notes that excessive drinking and eating are usually symptoms of deeper problems; we usually focus more on the drinking because it is dangerous to others (Proverbs, 241–42).
39 Heb “buy” (so , , , ); “Invest in truth.” The sixteenth saying is an instruction to buy/acquire the kind of life that pleases God and brings joy to parents. “Getting truth” would mean getting training in the truth, and getting wisdom and understanding would mean developing the perception and practical knowledge of the truth.
40 The Qere reading has the imperfect יָגִיל (yagil) with the cognate accusative גִּיל (gil) which intensifies the meaning and the specific future of this verb.
41 The term “child” is supplied for the masculine singular adjective here.
42 The form תָגֵל (tagel) is clearly a short form and therefore a jussive (“may she … rejoice”); if this second verb is a jussive, then the parallel יִשְׂמַח (yismakh) should be a jussive also (“may your father and your mother have joy”).
43 Heb “my son”; the reference to a “son” is retained in the translation here because in the following lines the advice is to avoid women who are prostitutes.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

My son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad.

My inmost being will exult

when your lips speak what is right.

Let not your heart envy sinners,

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

Surely there is a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.

Hear, my son, and be wise,

and direct your heart in the way.

Be not among drunkards

or among gluttonous eaters of meat,

for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and slumber will clothe them with rags.

Listen to your father who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Buy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

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

Let your father and mother be glad;

let her who bore you rejoice.

My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe my ways.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

My son, if your heart is wise,

then my heart will be glad indeed;

my inmost being will rejoice

when your lips speak what is right.

Do not let your heart envy sinners,

but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.

There is surely a future hope for you,

and your hope will not be cut off.

Listen, my son, and be wise,

and set your heart on the right path:

Do not join those who drink too much wine

or gorge themselves on meat,

for drunkards and gluttons become poor,

and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Listen to your father, who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Buy the truth and do not sell it—

wisdom, instruction and insight as well.

The father of a righteous child has great joy;

a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.

May your father and mother rejoice;

may she who gave you birth be joyful!

My son, give me your heart

and let your eyes delight in my ways,

CSBChristian Standard Bible

My son, if your heart is wise,

my heart will indeed rejoice.

My innermost being will celebrate

when your lips say what is right.

Don’t let your heart envy sinners;

instead, always fear the Lord.

For then you will have a future,

and your hope will not be dashed.

Listen, my son, and be wise;

keep your mind on the right course.

Don’t associate with those who drink too much wine

or with those who gorge themselves on meat.

For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor,

and grogginess will clothe them in rags.

Listen to your father who gave you life,

and don’t despise your mother when she is old.

Buy—and do not sell—truth,

wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly,

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

Let your father and mother have joy,

and let her who gave birth to you rejoice.

My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe my ways.

NLTNew Living Translation

My child, if your heart is wise,

my own heart will rejoice!

Everything in me will celebrate

when you speak what is right.

Don’t envy sinners,

but always continue to fear the Lord.

You will be rewarded for this;

your hope will not be disappointed.

My child, listen and be wise:

Keep your heart on the right course.

Do not carouse with drunkards

or feast with gluttons,

for they are on their way to poverty,

and too much sleep clothes them in rags.

Listen to your father, who gave you life,

and don’t despise your mother when she is old.

Get the truth and never sell it;

also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment.

The father of godly children has cause for joy.

What a pleasure to have children who are wise.

So give your father and mother joy!

May she who gave you birth be happy.

O my son, give me your heart.

May your eyes take delight in following my ways.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

My child, if your heart is wise,

my heart will be glad—even me!

And my insides will rejoice

when your lips speak what is upright.

May your heart not envy the sinners,

but live in fear of Yahweh all day.

Surely there is a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.

You, my child, hear and be wise,

and direct your heart on the road.

Do not be among drinkers of wine,

among gluttonous eaters of their meat.

For the drunkard and gluttonous, they will become poor,

and with rags, drowsiness will clothe them.

Listen to your father—he who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Buy truth and do not sell it,

wisdom and instruction and understanding.

The father of the righteous will surely rejoice;

he who bears a wise person will be happy with him.

May your father and your mother be glad,

and may she who bore you rejoice.

My child, may you give your heart to me,

and may your eyes delight in my ways.

KJV 1900King James Version

My son, if thine heart be wise,

My heart shall rejoice, even mine.

Yea, my reins shall rejoice,

When thy lips speak right things.

Let not thine heart envy sinners:

But be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.

For surely there is an end;

And thine expectation shall not be cut off.

Hear thou, my son, and be wise,

And guide thine heart in the way.

Be not among winebibbers;

Among riotous eaters of flesh:

For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty:

And drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Hearken unto thy father that begat thee,

And despise not thy mother when she is old.

Buy the truth, and sell it not;

Also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice:

And he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.

Thy father and thy mother shall be glad,

And she that bare thee shall rejoice.

My son, give me thine heart,

And let thine eyes observe my ways.

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