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
International Standard Version
Things to Avoid in Life
23 Whenever you sit down to dine with a ruler,
carefully think about what is before you.
2 Put a knife to your own throat,
if you have a big appetite.[a]
3 Don’t crave his delicacies,
because the meal is deceptive.
4 Don’t exhaust yourself acquiring wealth;
be smart enough to stop.
5 When you fix your gaze on it, it’s gone,
for it sprouts wings for itself
and flies to the sky like an eagle.
6 Don’t consume food provided by a miserly[b] person,
and don’t desire his delicacies,
7 for as he thinks within himself, so he is.
“Eat and drink!” he’ll say to you,
but his heart won’t be with you.
8 You’ll vomit up what little you’ve eaten,
and your compliments will have been wasted.
9 Don’t speak when a fool is listening,
because he’ll despise your wise words.
10 Don’t move ancient boundaries
or invade fields belonging to orphans;
11 for strong is their Redeemer
who will take up their case against you.
12 Learn diligently,
and listen to words of knowledge.
13 Don’t withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish him with a rod,
he won’t die.
14 Punish him with a rod,
and you will rescue his soul from Sheol.[c]
On Listening to Your Parents
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
my own heart will greatly rejoice.
16 My innermost being will be glad
when your lips speak what is right.
17 Never let yourself envy sinners;
instead, remain[d] in fear of the Lord every day,
18 for there is surely a future life,
and what you hope for will not be cut off.
19 Listen, my son, and be wise,
commit yourself to live God’s[e] way.
20 Don’t associate with heavy drinkers
or dine with gluttons,
21 because drunks and gluttons tend to become poor,
and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
22 Listen to the one who fathered you,
and don’t despise your mother in her old age.
23 Purchase truth, but don’t sell it;
store up[f] wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of a righteous person will greatly rejoice;
whoever fathers a wise son will be glad because of him.
25 Let your father and mother rejoice;
make the one who gave birth to you happy.
26 Give me your heart, my son,
and keep your eyes fixed on my ways,
27 because a prostitute is a deep pit,
and the adulterous[g] woman a narrow well.
28 Surely she lies in wait like a bandit,
increasing those who are faithless among mankind.
On Sobriety
29 Who has woe? Who has grief?
Who has contention? Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who linger over their wine,
who consume mixed drinks.
31 Don’t stare into red wine,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
32 Eventually it will bite like a snake
and sting like a serpent.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and with slurred words you’ll speak what you really believe.
34 You will be like someone who lies down in the sea,
or like someone who sleeps on top of a mast.
35 “They struck me,” you will say,[h]
“but I never felt it.
They beat me,
but I never knew it.
When will I wake up?
I want another drink.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:2 Lit. a master of an appetite
- Proverbs 23:6 Lit. by the evil eyed
- Proverbs 23:14 I.e. the realm of the dead
- Proverbs 23:17 The Heb. lacks remain
- Proverbs 23:19 Lit. live in the
- Proverbs 23:23 The Heb. lacks store up
- Proverbs 23:27 Lit. foreign
- Proverbs 23:35 The Heb. lacks you will say
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
