XXIII. When thou sittest to eat with a ruler,

Consider diligently what is before thee:

2  And put a knife to thy throat,

If thou be a man agiven to bappetite.

3  cBe not desirous of his cddainties:

For they are deceitful meat.

4  eLabour not to be rich:

Cease from thine own fwisdom.

5  * Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?

For griches certainly make themselves wings;

They fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

6  hEat thou not the bread of him that hath ian evil eye,

cNeither desire thou his cddainty meats:

7  For as he thinketh in his bheart, so is he:

Eat and drink, saith he to thee;

jBut his heart is not with thee.

8  The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou kvomit up,

And llose thy sweet words.

9  lSpeak not in the ears of a fool:

For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

10  mRemove not the old * landmark;

And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

11  For their nRedeemer is mighty;

He oshall plead their cause with thee.

12  Apply thine heart unto pinstruction,

And thine ears to the words of knowledge.

13  Withhold not pcorrection from the qchild:

For if thou beatest him with the rod, rhe shall not die.

14  Thou shalt beat him with the rod,

And shalt sdeliver his soul from hell.

15  tMy son, if thine heart be wise,

My heart shall rejoice, * ueven mine.

16  Yea, xmy reins shall rejoice,

When thy lips speak yright things.

17  Let not thine heart zenvy sinners:

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

18  For surely bthere is an * cend;

bAnd thine dexpectation shall not be cut off.

19  Hear thou, my son, and ebe wise,

And fguide thine gheart in the way.

20  Be not amongst hiwinebibbers;

Amongst ijriotous eaters * of flesh:

21  For the idrunkard and the ijglutton shall come to poverty:

And kdrowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

22  lHearken unto thy father that begat thee,

And despise not thy mother when she is old.

23  mBuy the truth, and sell it not;

Also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

24  nThe father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice:

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

25  Thy father and thy mother shall be glad,

And oshe that bare thee shall rejoice.

26  My son, give me thine heart,

And let thine eyes observe my ways.

27  For a whore is pa deep ditch;

And qa strange woman is a narrow rpit.

28  sShe also lieth in wait * as for a prey,

And increaseth the transgressors among men.

29  tWho hath woe? who hath sorrow?

Who hath contentions? who hath babbling?

Who hath uwounds without cause?

Who hath vredness of eyes?

30  tThey that wtarry long at the wine;

They that go to seek xmixt wine.

31  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,

When it giveth his colour in the cup,

When it ymoveth itself yzaright.

32  aAt the last it bbiteth like a serpent,

And stingeth like * an cadder.

33  Thine eyes shall behold dstrange women,

And thine heart shall utter eperverse things.

34  Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down * fin the midst of the sea,

Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.

35  They have gstricken me, hshalt thou say, and I gwas not sick;

They have beaten me, and * iI felt it not:

When shall I awake?

kI will seek it yet again.