Proverbs 23
English Standard Version
23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what[a] is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to appetite.
3 (A)Do not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
4 (B)Do not toil to acquire wealth;
(C)be discerning enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
(D)for suddenly it sprouts wings,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.
6 (E)Do not eat the bread of a man who is (F)stingy;[b]
(G)do not desire his delicacies,
7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.[c]
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
but his (H)heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,
and waste your pleasant words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
for he will despise the good sense of your words.
10 (I)Do not move an ancient landmark
or enter the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their (J)Redeemer is strong;
he will (K)plead their cause against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold (L)discipline from a child;
(M)if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14 If you strike him with the rod,
you will (N)save his soul from Sheol.
15 (O)My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will be glad.
16 My (P)inmost being[d] will exult
when your lips speak (Q)what is right.
17 Let not your heart (R)envy sinners,
but continue in (S)the fear of the Lord all the day.
18 Surely (T)there is a future,
and your (U)hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear, my son, and (V)be wise,
and (W)direct your heart in the way.
20 Be not among (X)drunkards[e]
or among (Y)gluttonous eaters of meat,
21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and (Z)slumber will clothe them with rags.
22 (AA)Listen to your father who gave you life,
(AB)and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 (AC)Buy truth, and do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 (AD)The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25 (AE)Let your father and mother be glad;
let (AF)her who bore you rejoice.
26 My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe[f] my ways.
27 For a prostitute is (AG)a deep pit;
(AH)an adulteress[g] is a narrow (AI)well.
28 (AJ)She lies in wait like a robber
and increases the traitors among mankind.
29 (AK)Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has (AL)wounds without cause?
Who has (AM)redness of eyes?
30 Those who (AN)tarry long over wine;
those who go to try (AO)mixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
32 In the end it (AP)bites like a serpent
and stings like an adder.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart utter (AQ)perverse things.
34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.[h]
35 “They (AR)struck me,” you will say,[i] “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I (AS)must have another drink.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:1 Or who
- Proverbs 23:6 Hebrew whose eye is evil
- Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he calculates in his soul, so is he
- Proverbs 23:16 Hebrew My kidneys
- Proverbs 23:20 Hebrew those who drink too much wine
- Proverbs 23:26 Or delight in
- Proverbs 23:27 Hebrew a foreign woman
- Proverbs 23:34 Or of the rigging
- Proverbs 23:35 Hebrew lacks you will say
Proverbs 23
Common English Bible
23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
carefully consider what is in front of you.
2 Place a knife at your throat
to control your appetite.
3 Don’t long for the ruler’s delicacies;
the food misleads.
4 Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich;
be smart enough to stop.
5 When your eyes fly to wealth
it is gone; it grows wings
like an eagle and flies heavenward.
6 Don’t eat food with stingy people;
don’t long for their delicacies,
7 because they are like a hair in the throat.[a]
They say to you, “Eat and drink!”
but they don’t mean it.
8 You will eat scraps and vomit them out.
You will waste your pleasant words.
9 Don’t speak in the ears of fools,
for they will scorn your insightful words.
10 Don’t remove an ancient boundary marker;
don’t invade the fields of orphans,
11 for their redeemer is strong.
He will bring charges against you.
12 Bring your mind to instruction,
your ear to knowledgeable sayings.
13 Don’t withhold instruction from children;
if you strike them with a rod, they won’t die.
14 Strike them with a rod,
and you will save their lives from the grave.[b]
15 My child, if your heart is wise,
then my heart too will be happy.
16 My inner being will rejoice
when your lips speak with integrity.
17 Don’t let your heart envy sinners,
but fear the Lord constantly;
18 then you will have a future,
and your hope won’t be cut off.
19 Listen, my child, and be wise!
Keep your mind straight on the path.
20 Don’t hang out with those who get drunk on wine
or those who eat too much meat,
21 because drunks and gluttons will be impoverished;
their stupor will clothe them in rags.
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life;
don’t despise your elderly mother.
23 Buy truth and don’t sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will be very happy;
the one who gives life to the wise will rejoice.
25 Your father and your mother will rejoice;
she who gave you birth will be happy.
26 My child, give your mind to me
and let your eyes keep to my path.
27 A prostitute is a deep pit,
and a foreign woman is a narrow well.
28 Indeed, she ambushes like a robber
and increases the number of the faithless.
29 Who is suffering?
Who is uneasy?
Who has arguments?
Who has complaints?
Who has unnecessary wounds?
Who has glazed eyes?—
30 those who linger over wine;
those who go looking for mixed wine.
31 Don’t look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
going down smoothly.
32 In the end, it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart will speak distorted words.
34 You will be like one who lies down while out on the sea[c]
or one who lies on top of a mast.
35 “Though hit, I feel no pain;
though beaten up, I don’t know anything about it.
When I wake up,
I’ll look for wine again!”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:7 LXX; Heb uncertain
- Proverbs 23:14 Heb Sheol
- Proverbs 23:34 Or in the heart of the sea
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible