Proverbs 23
JPS Tanakh (Jewish Publication Society, 1917)
Berean Standard Bible
1When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider well him that is before thee;
1When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
2And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
2and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
3Be not desirous of his dainties; seeing they are deceitful food.
3Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4Weary not thyself to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom.
4Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5Wilt thou set thine eyes upon it? it is gone; for riches certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
5When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties;
6Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
7For as one that hath reckoned within himself, so is he: 'Eat and drink', saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
7for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
8You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9Speak not in the ears of a fool; for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
9Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10Remove not the ancient landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless;
10Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their cause with thee.
11for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
12Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
12Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13Withhold not correction from the child; for though thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
13Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14Thou beatest him with the rod, and wilt deliver his soul from the nether-world.
14Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.
15My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart will be glad, even mine;
15My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
16Yea, my reins will rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
16My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17Let not thy heart envy sinners, but be in the fear of the LORD all the day;
17Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
18For surely there is a future; and thy hope shall not be cut off.
18For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
19Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thy heart in the way.
19Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
20Be not among winebibbers; among gluttonous eaters of flesh;
20Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
21For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
21For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
22Hearken unto thy father that begot thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
22Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
23Invest in truth and never sell it— in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; and he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.
24The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
25Let thy father and thy mother be glad, and let her that bore thee rejoice.
25May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
26My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27For a harlot is a deep ditch; and an alien woman is a narrow pit.
27For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
28She also lieth in wait as a robber, and increaseth the faithless among men.
28Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.
29Who crieth: 'Woe'? who: 'Alas'? who hath contentions? who hath raving? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to try mixed wine.
30Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup, when it glideth down smoothly;
31Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
32At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like a basilisk.
32In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
33Thine eyes shall behold strange things, and thy heart shall utter confused things.
33Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
34Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
34You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast:
35'They have struck me, and I felt it not, they have beaten me, and I knew it not; when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.'
35“They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”
Tip: use the ← and → keys to turn chapters.