Proverbs 23:1-18

Christian Standard Bible

23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
consider carefully what^[a] is before you,
² and put a knife to your throat
if you have a big^[b] appetite;
³ don’t desire his choice food,^(A)
for that food is deceptive.

⁴ Don’t wear yourself out to get rich;^(B)
because you know better, stop!
⁵ As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears,^(C)
for it makes wings for itself
and flies like an eagle to the sky.

⁶ Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread,^[c](D)
and don’t desire his choice food,^(E)
7 for it’s like someone calculating inwardly.^[d](F)
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.^(G)
8 You will vomit the little you’ve eaten
and waste your pleasant words.

⁹ Don’t speak to^[e] a fool,
for he will despise the insight of your words.^(H)

¹⁰ Don’t move an ancient boundary marker,^(I)
and don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
¹¹ for their Redeemer is strong,^(J)
and he will champion their cause against you.^(K)

¹² Apply yourself to discipline
and listen to words of knowledge.

¹³ Don’t withhold discipline from a youth;
if you punish him with a rod, he will not die.^(L)
14 Punish him with a rod,
and you will rescue his life from Sheol.^(M)

¹⁵ My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart will indeed rejoice.^(N)
16 My innermost being will celebrate
when your lips say what is right.^(O)

¹⁷ Don’t let your heart envy sinners;^(P)
instead, always fear the Lord.^(Q)
18 For then you will have a future,
and your hope will not be dashed.^(R)