Proverbs 23
Authorized (King James) Version
23 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 given to appetite.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties:
for they are deceitful meat.
4 Labour not to be rich:
cease from thine own wisdom.
5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?
for riches certainly make themselves wings;
they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye,
neither desire thou his dainty meats:
7 for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:
Eat and drink, saith he to thee;
but his heart is not with thee.
8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up,
and lose thy sweet words.
9 Speak not in the ears of a fool:
for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Remove not the old landmark;
and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11 for their redeemer is mighty;
he shall plead their cause with thee.
12 Apply thine heart unto instruction,
and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the child:
for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod,
and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
15 My son, if thine heart be wise,
my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16 Yea, my reins shall rejoice,
when thy lips speak right things.
17 Let not thine heart envy sinners:
but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.
18 For surely there is an end;
and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise,
and guide thine heart in the way.
20 Be not among winebibbers;
among riotous eaters of flesh:
21 for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty:
and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee,
and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and sell it not;
also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 The 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 she that bare thee shall rejoice.
26 My son, give me thine heart,
and let thine eyes observe my ways.
27 For a whore is a deep ditch;
and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28 She also lieth in wait as for a prey,
and increaseth the transgressors among men.
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow?
who hath contentions? who hath babbling?
who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 they that tarry long at the wine;
they that go to seek mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,
when it giveth his colour in the cup,
when it moveth itself aright.
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent,
and stingeth like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women,
and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Yea, 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.
35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick;
they have beaten me, and I felt it not:
when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Proverbs 23
American Standard Version
23 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler,
Consider diligently [a]him that is before thee;
2 [b]And put a knife to thy throat,
If thou be a man given to appetite.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties;
Seeing they are deceitful food.
4 Weary not thyself to be rich;
Cease [c]from thine own wisdom.
5 [d]Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings,
Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye,
Neither desire thou his dainties:
7 For [e]as he thinketh within himself, so is he:
Eat and drink, saith he to thee;
But his heart is not with thee.
8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up,
And lose thy sweet words.
9 Speak not in the hearing of a fool;
For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark;
And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11 For their Redeemer is strong;
He will plead their cause against thee.
12 Apply thy heart unto [f]instruction,
And thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the child;
For [g]if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod,
And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.
15 My son, if thy heart be wise,
My heart will be glad, even mine:
16 Yea, my [h]heart will rejoice,
When thy lips speak right things.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners;
But be thou in the fear of Jehovah all the day long:
18 For surely there is a [i]reward;
And thy hope shall not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise,
And guide thy heart in the way.
20 Be not among winebibbers,
Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty;
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee,
And despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and sell it not;
Yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.
25 Let thy father and thy mother be glad,
And let her that bare thee rejoice.
26 My son, give me thy heart;
And let thine eyes [j]delight in my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch;
And a foreign woman is a narrow pit.
28 Yea, she lieth in wait [k]as a robber,
And increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 Who hath [l]woe? who hath [m]sorrow? who hath contentions?
Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause?
Who hath [n]redness of eyes?
30 They that tarry long at the wine;
They that go to [o]seek out mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,
When it sparkleth in the cup,
When it [p]goeth down smoothly:
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent,
And stingeth like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold [q]strange things,
And thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Yea, 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.
35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, and I felt it not:
When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:1 Or, what
- Proverbs 23:2 Or, For thou wilt put
- Proverbs 23:4 Or, by reason of thine own understanding
- Proverbs 23:5 Or, Wilt thou set thine eyes upon it? it is gone: Hebrew Shall thine eyes fly upon it, and it is not?
- Proverbs 23:7 Or, as one that reckoneth
- Proverbs 23:12 Or, correction
- Proverbs 23:13 Or, though
- Proverbs 23:16 Hebrew reins.
- Proverbs 23:18 Or, sequel. Or, future. Hebrew latter end.
- Proverbs 23:26 Another reading is, observe
- Proverbs 23:28 Or, as for a prey
- Proverbs 23:29 Hebrew Oh!
- Proverbs 23:29 Hebrew Alas!
- Proverbs 23:29 Or, darkness
- Proverbs 23:30 Or, try
- Proverbs 23:31 Or, moveth itself aright
- Proverbs 23:33 Or, strange women
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
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