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Proverbs 23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Proverbs 23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 23
1 [a]When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
mark well the one who is before you;
2 Stick the knife in your gullet[b]
if you have a ravenous appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies;
it is food that deceives.
4 Do not wear yourself out to gain wealth,
cease to be worried about it;
5 When your glance flits to it, it is gone!
For assuredly it grows wings,
like the eagle that flies toward heaven.[c]
6 [d]Do not take food with unwilling hosts,
and do not desire their delicacies;
7 For like something stuck in the throat is that food.
“Eat and drink,” they say to you,
but their hearts are not with you;
8 The little you have eaten you will vomit up,
and you will have wasted your agreeable words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of fools;
they will despise the wisdom of your words.(A)
10 Do not remove the ancient landmark,(B)
nor invade the fields of the fatherless;[e]
11 For their redeemer is strong;
he will defend their cause against you.(C)
12 Apply your heart to instruction,
and your ear to words of knowledge.
13 [f]Do not withhold discipline from youths;
if you beat them with the rod, they will not die.(D)
14 Beat them with the rod,(E)
and you will save them from Sheol.
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart also will rejoice;
16 And my inmost being will exult,
when your lips speak what is right.
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,(F)
but only those who always fear the Lord;[g]
18 For you will surely have a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.(G)
19 Hear, my son, and be wise,
and guide your heart in the right way.
20 Do not join with wine bibbers,
nor with those who glut themselves on meat.
21 For drunkards and gluttons come to poverty,
and lazing about clothes one in rags.
22 [h]Listen to your father who begot you,
do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy truth and do not sell:
wisdom, instruction, understanding!
24 The father of a just person will exult greatly;
whoever begets a wise son will rejoice in him.(H)
25 Let your father and mother rejoice;
let her who bore you exult.
26 [i]My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes keep to my ways,
27 For the harlot is a deep pit,
and the foreign woman a narrow well;
28 Yes, she lies in wait like a robber,(I)
and increases the number of the faithless.
29 [j]Who scream? Who shout?
Who have strife? Who have anxiety?
Who have wounds for nothing?
Who have bleary eyes?
30 Whoever linger long over wine,
whoever go around quaffing wine.(J)
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup.
It goes down smoothly,
32 but in the end it bites like a serpent,
and stings like an adder.
33 Your eyes behold strange sights,
and your heart utters incoherent things;
34 You are like one sleeping on the high seas,
sprawled at the top of the mast.
35 “They struck me, but it did not pain me;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When can I get up,
when can I go out and get more?”[k]
Footnotes
- 23:1–9 Four admonitions for someone aspiring to be a sage: be careful about advancing your career by socializing with the great (vv. 1–3); avoid greed (vv. 4–5); do not force yourself on an unwilling host (vv. 6–8); do not waste your wisdom on those who cannot profit from it (v. 9).
- 23:2 Stick the knife in your gullet: a metaphor for self-restraint. The usual translation, “Put a knife to your throat,” is misleading, for in English it is a death threat. The exhortation is humorously exaggerated: stick the table-knife in your own gullet rather than take too much food. It assumes that the young courtier is unused to opulent banquets and will be tempted to overindulgence.
- 23:5 The frustration of covetous intent and elusiveness of wealth are portrayed by the sudden flight of an eagle. Amenemope, chap. 7, has a similar statement: “Do not set your heart on wealth. There is no ignoring Fate and Destiny; / Do not let your heart go straying.” Proverbs imagines covetous intent as a flight of the eyes, whereas Amenemope imagines it as a straying of the heart.
- 23:6–8 Some humorous advice on not trading on the courtesy of unwilling hosts who, for convention’s sake, use the language of welcome. Amenemope, chap. 11, gives similar advice: “Do not intrude on a man in his house, / Enter when you have been called; / He may say ‘Welcome’ with his mouth, / Yet deride you in his thoughts.” “Unwilling,” lit., “evil of eye,” is usually translated “stingy,” but the context suggests unwilling. In v. 8, the unwanted guest vomits up the food, thus destroying the desired good impression. Proverbs regards the uninvited banqueters as thieves who will suffer the consequences of their theft. Amenemope, chap. 11, is relevant: “Do not covet a poor man’s goods,…A poor man’s goods are a block in the throat, / It makes the gullet vomit.”
- 23:10 In Israel ownership of property and other legal rights were vested mainly in the father as head of the family; thus the widow and fatherless child were vulnerable, left prey to those who would exploit them.
- 23:13–14 The young will not die from instructional blows but from their absence, for (premature) death results from uncorrected folly. The sardonic humor means the exhortation is not to be taken literally, as an argument for corporal punishment. The next verses (vv. 15–16) are exceedingly tender toward the young.
- 23:17 Those whom one admires or associates with exercise enormous influence. Do not join the wicked, who are a doomed group. The warning is repeated in 24:1–2, 19–20.
- 23:22–23 Father and mother are associated with truth and wisdom. One should no more rid oneself of truth and wisdom than rid oneself of one’s parents, who are their source.
- 23:26–28 The exhortation is a condensed version of chap. 7 with its emotional appeal to “my son” to avoid the forbidden woman (7:1–5), her traps (7:21–23), and her intent to add the youth to her list of victims (7:24–27). As in 23:15, 19, 22, a trustful and affectionate relationship between student and teacher is the basis of teaching. The danger of the woman is expressed in imagery that has sexual overtones (cf. 22:14).
- 23:29–35 A vivid description of the evil effects, physical and psychological, of drunkenness. The emphasis is on the unwise behavior, the folly, caused by alcohol. Cf. 20:1.
- 23:35 Drunkards become insensible to bodily and moral harm. Their one desire is to indulge again.
Proverbs 23
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Proverbs 23
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
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 a man given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
4 Do not toil to acquire wealth;
be wise enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light upon it, it is gone;
for suddenly it takes to itself wings,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.
6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;
do not desire his delicacies;
7 for he is like one who is inwardly reckoning.[b]
“Eat and drink!” he says to you;
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the morsels which you have eaten,
and waste your pleasant words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Do not remove an ancient landmark
or enter the fields of the fatherless;
11 for their Redeemer is strong;
he will plead their cause against you.
12 Apply your mind to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
14 If you beat him with the rod
you will save his life from Sheol.
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will be glad.
16 My soul will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.
17 Let not your heart envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.
18 Surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear, my son, and be wise,
and direct your mind in the way.
20 Be not among winebibbers,
or among gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
22 Hearken to your father who begot you,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy truth, and do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
he who begets a wise son will be glad in him.
25 Let your father and mother be glad,
let her who bore you rejoice.
26 My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe[c] my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep pit;
an adventuress is a narrow well.
28 She lies in wait like a robber
and increases the faithless among men.
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
30 Those who tarry long over wine,
those who go to try mixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
32 At the last it bites like a serpent,
and stings like an adder.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and your mind utter 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.[d]
35 “They struck me,” you will say,[e] “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I will seek another drink.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:1 Or who
- Proverbs 23:7 Heb obscure
- Proverbs 23:26 Another reading is delight in
- Proverbs 23:34 Heb obscure
- Proverbs 23:35 Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb lacks you will say
Proverbs 23
Good News Translation
Proverbs 23
Good News Translation
-6-
23 When you sit down to eat with someone important, keep in mind who he is.[a] 2 If you have a big appetite, restrain yourself. 3 Don't be greedy for the fine food he serves; he may be trying to trick you.
-7-
4 Be wise enough not to wear yourself out trying to get rich. 5 Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle.
-8-
6 Don't eat at the table of a stingy person or be greedy for the fine food he serves. 7 “Come on and have some more,” he says, but he doesn't mean it. What he thinks is what he really is. 8 You will vomit up what you have eaten, and all your flattery will be wasted.
-9-
9 Don't try to talk sense to a fool; he can't appreciate it.
-10-
10 Never move an old property line or take over land owned by orphans. 11 The Lord is their powerful defender, and he will argue their case against you.
-11-
12 Pay attention to your teacher and learn all you can.
-12-
13 Don't hesitate to discipline children. A good spanking won't kill them. 14 As a matter of fact, it may save their lives.
-13-
15 My child, if you become wise, I will be very happy. 16 I will be proud when I hear you speaking words of wisdom.
-14-
17 Don't be envious of sinful people; let reverence for the Lord be the concern of your life. 18 If it is, you have a bright future.
-15-
19 Listen, my child, be wise and give serious thought to the way you live. 20 Don't associate with people who drink too much wine or stuff themselves with food. 21 Drunkards and gluttons will be reduced to poverty. If all you do is eat and sleep, you will soon be wearing rags.
-16-
22 Listen to your father; without him you would not exist. When your mother is old, show her your appreciation.
23 Truth, wisdom, learning, and good sense—these are worth paying for, but too valuable for you to sell.
24 A righteous person's parents have good reason to be happy. You can take pride in a wise child.
25 Let your father and mother be proud of you; give your mother that happiness.
-17-
26 Pay close attention, son, and let my life be your example. 27 Prostitutes and immoral women are a deadly trap. 28 They wait for you like robbers and cause many men to be unfaithful.
-18-
29-30 Show me people who drink too much, who have to try out fancy drinks, and I will show you people who are miserable and sorry for themselves, always causing trouble and always complaining. Their eyes are bloodshot, and they have bruises that could have been avoided. 31 Don't let wine tempt you, even though it is rich red, and it sparkles in the cup, and it goes down smoothly. 32 The next morning you will feel as if you had been bitten by a poisonous snake. 33 Weird sights will appear before your eyes, and you will not be able to think or speak clearly. 34 You will feel as if you were out on the ocean, seasick, swinging high up in the rigging of a tossing ship. 35 “I must have been hit,” you will say; “I must have been beaten up, but I don't remember it. Why can't I wake up? I need another drink.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:1 keep … is; or notice carefully what is before you.
Proverbs 23
New American Standard Bible
Proverbs 23
New American Standard Bible
On Life and Conduct
23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Consider carefully [a]what is before you,
2 And put a knife to your throat
If you are a (A)person of great appetite.
3 Do not (B)desire his delicacies,
For it is deceptive food.
4 (C)Do not weary yourself to gain wealth;
[b](D)Stop dwelling on it.
5 [c]When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.
For (E)wealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
6 (F)Do not eat the bread of [d]a (G)selfish person;
Or desire his delicacies;
7 For as he [e]thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!”
But (H)his heart is not with you.
8 You will (I)vomit up [f]the morsel you have eaten
And waste your [g]compliments.
10 Do not move the ancient boundary
Or (L)go into the fields of the fatherless,
11 For their (M)Redeemer is strong;
(N)He will plead their case against you.
12 Apply your heart to discipline,
And your ears to words of knowledge.
13 (O)Do not withhold discipline from a child;
Though you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
14 You shall strike him with the rod
And (P)rescue his soul from Sheol.
15 My son, if your heart is (Q)wise,
My own heart also will be glad,
16 And my [i]innermost being will rejoice
When your lips speak (R)what is right.
17 (S)Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But live in [j]the (T)fear of the Lord [k]always.
18 Certainly there is a [l](U)future,
And your (V)hope will not be cut off.
19 Listen, my son, and (W)be wise,
And (X)direct your heart in the way.
20 Do not be with (Y)heavy drinkers of wine,
Or with (Z)gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 For the (AA)heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And (AB)drowsiness will clothe one with rags.
22 (AC)Listen to your father, who fathered you,
And (AD)do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 (AE)Buy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And (AF)he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25 Let your (AG)father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.
26 (AH)Give me your heart, my son,
And let your eyes [m](AI)delight in my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a (AJ)deep pit,
And a [n](AK)strange woman is a narrow well.
28 Certainly she (AL)lurks as a robber,
And increases the treacherous among mankind.
29 Who has (AM)woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has red eyes?
30 Those who (AN)linger long over wine,
Those who go to [o]taste (AO)mixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
When it [p]sparkles in the cup,
When it (AP)goes down smoothly;
32 In the end it (AQ)bites like a snake
And stings like a (AR)viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things
And your [q]mind will (AS)say perverse things.
34 And you will be like one who lies down in the [r]middle of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a [s]mast.
35 “They (AT)struck me, but I did not become [t]ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When will I awake?
I will (AU)seek [u]another drink.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:1 Or who
- Proverbs 23:4 Lit Refrain from your understanding of it
- Proverbs 23:5 Lit Will your eyes fly upon it and it is not?
- Proverbs 23:6 Lit an evil eye
- Proverbs 23:7 Lit reckons in his soul
- Proverbs 23:8 Lit your
- Proverbs 23:8 Lit pleasant words
- Proverbs 23:9 Lit in the ears of a
- Proverbs 23:16 Lit kidneys
- Proverbs 23:17 Or reverence for
- Proverbs 23:17 Lit all the day
- Proverbs 23:18 Lit latter end
- Proverbs 23:26 Another reading is observe
- Proverbs 23:27 Lit foreign
- Proverbs 23:30 Or search out
- Proverbs 23:31 Lit gives its eye
- Proverbs 23:33 Lit heart
- Proverbs 23:34 Lit heart
- Proverbs 23:34 Or lookout
- Proverbs 23:35 I.e., from the effect of wounds
- Proverbs 23:35 Lit it yet again
Proverbs 23
New International Version
Proverbs 23
New International Version
Saying 7
23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what[a] is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,(A)
for that food is deceptive.
Saying 8
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,(B)
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.(C)
Saying 9
6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;(D)
7 for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.[b]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.
Saying 10
9 Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.(E)
Saying 11
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(F)
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender(G) is strong;(H)
he will take up their case against you.(I)
Saying 12
12 Apply your heart to instruction(J)
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Saying 13
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.(K)
Saying 14
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad indeed;
16 my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.(L)
Saying 15
17 Do not let your heart envy(M) sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.(N)
Saying 16
19 Listen, my son,(O) and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine(P)
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,(Q)
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Saying 17
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.(R)
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it—
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.(S)
24 The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.(T)
25 May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!(U)
Saying 18
26 My son,(V) give me your heart
and let your eyes delight in my ways,(W)
27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,(X)
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Like a bandit she lies in wait(Y)
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
Saying 19
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,(Z)
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
32 In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”(AA)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:1 Or who
- Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.