Proverbs 23-25
New American Standard Bible
On Life and Conduct
23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Consider carefully [a]what is before you,
2 And put a knife to your throat
If you are a (A)person of great appetite.
3 Do not (B)desire his delicacies,
For it is deceptive food.
4 (C)Do not weary yourself to gain wealth;
[b](D)Stop dwelling on it.
5 [c]When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.
For (E)wealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
6 (F)Do not eat the bread of [d]a (G)selfish person;
Or desire his delicacies;
7 For as he [e]thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!”
But (H)his heart is not with you.
8 You will (I)vomit up [f]the morsel you have eaten
And waste your [g]compliments.
10 Do not move the ancient boundary
Or (L)go into the fields of the fatherless,
11 For their (M)Redeemer is strong;
(N)He will plead their case against you.
12 Apply your heart to discipline,
And your ears to words of knowledge.
13 (O)Do not withhold discipline from a child;
Though you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
14 You shall strike him with the rod
And (P)rescue his soul from Sheol.
15 My son, if your heart is (Q)wise,
My own heart also will be glad,
16 And my [i]innermost being will rejoice
When your lips speak (R)what is right.
17 (S)Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But live in [j]the (T)fear of the Lord [k]always.
18 Certainly there is a [l](U)future,
And your (V)hope will not be cut off.
19 Listen, my son, and (W)be wise,
And (X)direct your heart in the way.
20 Do not be with (Y)heavy drinkers of wine,
Or with (Z)gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 For the (AA)heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And (AB)drowsiness will clothe one with rags.
22 (AC)Listen to your father, who fathered you,
And (AD)do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 (AE)Buy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And (AF)he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25 Let your (AG)father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.
26 (AH)Give me your heart, my son,
And let your eyes [m](AI)delight in my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a (AJ)deep pit,
And a [n](AK)strange woman is a narrow well.
28 Certainly she (AL)lurks as a robber,
And increases the treacherous among mankind.
29 Who has (AM)woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has red eyes?
30 Those who (AN)linger long over wine,
Those who go to [o]taste (AO)mixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
When it [p]sparkles in the cup,
When it (AP)goes down smoothly;
32 In the end it (AQ)bites like a snake
And stings like a (AR)viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things
And your [q]mind will (AS)say perverse things.
34 And you will be like one who lies down in the [r]middle of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a [s]mast.
35 “They (AT)struck me, but I did not become [t]ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When will I awake?
I will (AU)seek [u]another drink.”
Precepts and Warnings
24 Do not be (AV)envious of evil people,
Nor desire to (AW)be with them;
2 For their [v]minds plot (AX)violence,
And their lips (AY)talk of trouble.
3 (AZ)By wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 And by knowledge the rooms are (BA)filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A (BB)wise man is [w]strong,
And a person of knowledge [x]increases power.
6 For (BC)by wise guidance you will [y]wage war,
And (BD)in an abundance of counselors there is victory.
8 One who (BG)plans to do evil,
People will call a [z]schemer.
9 The (BH)devising of foolishness is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to humanity.
10 If you (BI)show yourself lacking courage on the day of distress,
Your strength is meager.
11 (BJ)Rescue those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to the slaughter, Oh hold them back!
12 If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He (BK)who weighs the hearts not (BL)consider it?
And (BM)does He who (BN)watches over your soul not know it?
And will He not [aa](BO)repay a person according to his work?
13 My son, eat (BP)honey, for it is good;
Yes, the (BQ)honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
14 Know that (BR)wisdom is the same for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a [ab](BS)future,
And your hope will not be cut off.
15 (BT)Do not lie in ambush, you wicked person, against the home of the righteous;
Do not destroy his resting place;
16 For a (BU)righteous person falls seven times and rises again,
But the (BV)wicked stumble in time of disaster.
17 (BW)Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
18 Otherwise, the Lord will see and [ac]be displeased,
And turn His anger away from him.
19 (BX)Do not get upset because of evildoers
Or be (BY)envious of the wicked;
20 For (BZ)there will be no [ad](CA)future for the evil person;
The (CB)lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21 My son, [ae](CC)fear the Lord and the king;
Do not get involved with those [af]of high rank,
22 For their (CD)disaster will rise suddenly,
And who knows the ruin that can come from both of them?
23 These also are (CE)sayings of the wise:
To [ag](CF)show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 One (CG)who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
(CH)Peoples will curse him, nations will scold him;
25 But (CI)for those who rebuke the wicked there will be delight,
And a good blessing will come upon them.
26 One who gives [ah]a right answer
Kisses the lips.
27 Prepare your work outside,
And (CJ)make it ready for yourself in the field;
Afterward, then, build your house.
28 Do not be a (CK)witness against your neighbor for no reason,
And (CL)do not deceive with your lips.
29 (CM)Do not say, “I shall do the same to him as he has done to me;
I will [ai]repay the person according to his work.”
30 I passed by the field of [aj]a lazy one,
And by the vineyard of a person (CN)lacking [ak]sense,
31 And behold, it was completely (CO)overgrown with weeds;
Its surface was covered with (CP)weeds,
And its stone (CQ)wall was broken down.
32 When I saw, I [al]reflected upon it;
I looked, and received instruction.
33 “(CR)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,”
34 Then your poverty will come like [am]a drifter,
And your need like [an]an armed man.
Similitudes and Instructions
25 These also are (CS)proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed.
2 It is the glory of God to (CT)conceal a matter,
But the glory of (CU)kings is to search out a matter.
3 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth,
So the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the [ao](CV)impurities from the silver,
And there comes out a vessel for the (CW)smith;
5 Take away the (CX)wicked before the king,
And his (CY)throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Do not boast in the presence of the king,
And do not stand in the same place [ap]as great people;
7 For (CZ)it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,”
Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince,
Whom your eyes have seen.
8 Do not go out (DA)hastily to [aq]argue your case;
[ar]Otherwise, what will you do in [as]the end,
When your neighbor humiliates you?
9 [at](DB)Argue your case with your neighbor,
And (DC)do not reveal the secret of another,
10 Or one who hears it will put you to shame,
And the evil report about you will not [au]pass away.
11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver,
Is a (DD)word spoken at [av]the proper time.
12 Like [aw]an (DE)earring of gold and a (DF)jewelry piece of (DG)fine gold,
Is a wise person who offers rebukes to a (DH)listening ear.
13 Like the cold of snow in the [ax]time of harvest
Is a (DI)faithful messenger to those who send him,
For he refreshes the soul of his masters.
14 Like (DJ)clouds and (DK)wind without rain
Is a person who boasts [ay]of his gifts falsely.
15 Through [az](DL)patience a ruler may be persuaded,
And a gentle tongue breaks bone.
16 Have you (DM)found honey? Eat only [ba]what you need,
So that you do not have it in excess and vomit it.
17 Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house,
Or he will become [bb]weary of you and hate you.
18 Like a club, a (DN)sword, and a sharp (DO)arrow
Is a person who gives (DP)false testimony against his neighbor.
19 Like a bad tooth and [bc]an unsteady foot
Is confidence in a (DQ)treacherous person in time of trouble.
20 Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on [bd]soda,
Is one who sings songs to [be]a troubled heart.
21 (DR)If [bf]your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
22 For you will [bg]heap burning coals on his head,
And (DS)the Lord will reward you.
23 The north wind brings rain,
And a [bh](DT)gossiping tongue brings an angry face.
24 It is (DU)better to live on a corner of the roof,
Than [bi]in a house shared with a contentious woman.
25 Like cold water to a weary soul,
So is (DV)good news from a distant land.
26 Like a (DW)trampled spring and a [bj]polluted well,
So is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked.
27 It is not good to eat much honey,
Nor is it glory to (DX)search out [bk]one’s own glory.
28 Like a (DY)city that is broken into and without walls
So is a person (DZ)who has no self-control over his spirit.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:1 Or who
- Proverbs 23:4 Lit Refrain from your understanding of it
- Proverbs 23:5 Lit Will your eyes fly upon it and it is not?
- Proverbs 23:6 Lit an evil eye
- Proverbs 23:7 Lit reckons in his soul
- Proverbs 23:8 Lit your
- Proverbs 23:8 Lit pleasant words
- Proverbs 23:9 Lit in the ears of a
- Proverbs 23:16 Lit kidneys
- Proverbs 23:17 Or reverence for
- Proverbs 23:17 Lit all the day
- Proverbs 23:18 Lit latter end
- Proverbs 23:26 Another reading is observe
- Proverbs 23:27 Lit foreign
- Proverbs 23:30 Or search out
- Proverbs 23:31 Lit gives its eye
- Proverbs 23:33 Lit heart
- Proverbs 23:34 Lit heart
- Proverbs 23:34 Or lookout
- Proverbs 23:35 I.e., from the effect of wounds
- Proverbs 23:35 Lit it yet again
- Proverbs 24:2 Lit hearts
- Proverbs 24:5 Lit in strength
- Proverbs 24:5 Lit strengthens power
- Proverbs 24:6 Lit make battle for yourself
- Proverbs 24:8 Or deviser of evil
- Proverbs 24:12 Lit bring back to
- Proverbs 24:14 Lit latter end
- Proverbs 24:18 Lit it is evil in His eyes
- Proverbs 24:20 Lit latter end
- Proverbs 24:21 Or revere
- Proverbs 24:21 Or who change
- Proverbs 24:23 Lit regard the face
- Proverbs 24:26 Or an honest
- Proverbs 24:29 Lit bring back
- Proverbs 24:30 Lit an idle
- Proverbs 24:30 Lit heart
- Proverbs 24:32 Lit set my heart
- Proverbs 24:34 Lit one who moves about
- Proverbs 24:34 Lit a man with a shield
- Proverbs 25:4 Lit dross
- Proverbs 25:6 Lit of
- Proverbs 25:8 Lit contend
- Proverbs 25:8 Lit Lest
- Proverbs 25:8 Lit its
- Proverbs 25:9 Lit Contend
- Proverbs 25:10 Lit return
- Proverbs 25:11 Lit its time
- Proverbs 25:12 Or a nose ring
- Proverbs 25:13 Lit day
- Proverbs 25:14 Lit in a gift of falsehood
- Proverbs 25:15 Lit length of anger
- Proverbs 25:16 Lit your sufficiency
- Proverbs 25:17 Lit surfeited with
- Proverbs 25:19 Lit a slipping foot
- Proverbs 25:20 I.e., natron
- Proverbs 25:20 Lit an evil
- Proverbs 25:21 Lit one who hates you
- Proverbs 25:22 Lit snatch up
- Proverbs 25:23 Lit tongue of secrecy
- Proverbs 25:24 Lit with a woman of contentions and a house of association
- Proverbs 25:26 Lit ruined
- Proverbs 25:27 Lit their
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