Proverbs 23:9-28

New King James Version

^9 (A)Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰ Do not remove the ancient ^[a]landmark,
Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;
^11 (B)For 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 (C)Do 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 ^[b]hell.

¹⁵ My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;
¹⁶ Yes, my ^[c]inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak right things.

^17 (D)Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But ^(E)be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day;
^18 (F)For surely there is a ^[d]hereafter,
And your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁹ Hear, my son, and be wise;
And guide your heart in the way.
^20 (G)Do not mix with winebibbers,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
²¹ For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

^22 (H)Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.

^23 (I)Buy the truth, and do not sell it,
Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

^24 (J)The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
²⁵ Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her who bore you rejoice.

²⁶ My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways.
^27 (K)For a harlot is a deep pit,
And a seductress is a narrow well.
^28 (L)She also lies in wait as for a victim,
And increases the unfaithful among men.