Proverbs 23:1–16
23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you;
2 And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
For they are deceptive food.
4 aDo not overwork to be rich;
bBecause of your own understanding, cease!
5 1Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
6 Do not eat the bread of ca 2miser,
Nor desire his delicacies;
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
“Eat and drink!” dhe says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,
And waste your pleasant words.
9 eDo not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Do not remove the ancient 3landmark,
Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;
11 fFor their Redeemer is mighty;
He will plead their cause against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction,
And your ears to words of knowledge.
13 gDo not withhold correction from a child,
For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
14 You shall beat him with a rod,
And deliver his soul from 4hell.
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;
16 Yes, my 5inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak right things.