箴言 23
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
不可貪吃,當求智慧
23 你與官長一起坐席吃飯的時候,
要特別留意在你面前的是誰。
2 你若是個貪吃的人,
就當把刀子放在喉嚨上。
3 不可貪戀他的美食,
因為那是騙人的食物。
4 不要勞碌求富,
你要明智地放下這企圖。
5 你的眼睛注視在錢財上,錢財卻不見了,
因為錢財必長起翅膀,
如鷹飛往天上。
6 不可吃吝嗇人的飯,
也不可貪戀他的美食。
7 因為他心裡怎樣計算,他的為人就是怎樣;
他雖然對你說:“請吃,請喝!”
他的心裡卻沒有你。
8 你所吃的那一點食物,必要吐出來,
你道謝的美言,也都白費了。
9 不要說話給愚昧人聽,
因為他必藐視你明慧的言語。
10 你不可遷移古時的地界;
也不可侵佔孤兒的田地。
11 因為他們的救贖主大有能力,
他必向你為他們的案件伸冤。
12 你要專心領受教訓,
留心聽知識的言語。
13 要管教孩童,不可姑息,
你雖然用杖打他,他也不會死;
14 你要用杖打他,
就可以救他的靈魂免下陰間。
15 我兒,如果你的心有智慧,
我的心也就歡喜;
16 你的嘴唇說正直話的時候,
我的內心就歡樂。
17 你的心不要嫉妒罪人,
只要時常敬畏耶和華。
18 因為萬事必有結局,
你的盼望也不會斷絕。
19 我兒,你要聽,要有智慧,
要引導你的心走在正路上。
20 酗酒的人,不可與他們來往;
暴食的人,不要與他們為友。
21 因為酗酒暴食的人必致窮乏;
貪睡的人必穿破衣。
22 你要聽從生你的父親;
也不可因為母親老了,就藐視她。
23 你要買真理,不可出賣;
要得智慧、教訓和哲理。
24 義人的父親必大有快樂;
生下智慧的兒子的,必因兒子歡喜。
25 要使你的父母歡喜,
使生下你的快樂。
26 我兒,把你的心給我;
你的眼目要關注我的道路。
27 因為妓女是深坑,
淫婦是狹窄的井。
28 她像強盜一樣埋伏,
使人間增添很多奸詐的人。
29 誰有禍患?誰有愁苦?
誰有紛爭?誰有怨言?
誰無故受傷?
誰的眼睛赤紅?
30 就是那些沉湎於酒,
常去品嘗調和了的酒的人。
31 你不要看酒怎樣發紅,
在杯中怎樣閃爍誘人,
喝下去怎樣舒暢,
32 最後它卻像咬你的蛇、
像刺你的毒蛇。
33 你的眼睛必看見怪異的事,
你的心必說乖謬的話。
34 你必好像躺在海中,
又好像躺在桅杆頂上。
35 你必說:“人打我,我不痛;
人鞭打我,我不曉得;
我甚麼時候清醒?
我還要再去尋酒。”
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
Proverbs 23
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 23
When You Sit Down To Dine with a Ruler . . .[a]
1 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
take careful note of what is before you.
2 Control yourself[b]
if you are given to overindulgence.
3 Do not yearn for the ruler’s delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
Wealth Passes Away[c]
4 Do not wear yourself out in the pursuit of wealth,
and cease even to think about it.
5 When you fix your gaze upon it,
it is gone before you realize it.
For it suddenly sprouts wings
and flies up to the sky like an eagle.
Do Not Dine with a Stingy Man[d]
6 Do not dine with a stingy man
or hanker for his delicacies.
7 For, like a hair,
they will stick in your throat.
“Eat and drink,” he will say to you,
but he does not mean it in his heart.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and find that your compliments have been wasted.
9 Do not waste your words on a fool
who will only despise the wisdom of your comments.[e]
God Vindicates the Defenseless[f]
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the lands of orphans.
11 For their redeemer is powerful,
and he will take up their cause against you.
Direct Your Heart along the Right Path[g]
12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
14 Rather, if you beat him with a rod,
you will save him from the netherworld.[h]
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad.
16 Also my innermost being will rejoice
when your lips utter what is right.
17 Do not allow your heart to envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord;[i]
18 there truly is a future for you,
and your hope will not be cut short.
19 Listen, my son, and be wise
as you direct your heart along the right path.
20 Do not consort with drunkards[j]
or be one of those who gorge themselves with meat.
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will become impoverished,
and stupor will clothe them in rags.
22 Listen to your father who begot you,
and do not despise your mother[k] when she is old.
23 Buy truth and do not sell it;
this is wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of a good man will rejoice;
he who begets a wise son will delight in him.
25 May your father and mother be glad;
may the one who bore you exult.
The Prostitute Is a Deep Well[l]
26 My son, pay attention to me
and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a deep well,
and an adulteress is a narrow pit.
28 Such a woman lies in wait like a robber,
and many are the men she deludes.
The Joys and Dangers of Wine[m]
29 Who endures misery? Who endures remorse?
Who has strife? Who has anxiety?
Who becomes bruised without knowing the reason?
Who has blackened eyes?
30 Those who linger over their wine too long,
those who sample blended wines.
31 Do not note how red the wine is,
how it sparkles in the cup,
and how smoothly it goes down.
32 For in the end its bite is like that of a serpent
or that of a poisonous viper.
33 Then your eyes will behold strange sights,
and your heart will utter distorted words.
34 You will become like one sleeping at sea
or clinging to the top of the mast.
35 You will say, “They struck me, but I was not hurt.
They beat me, but I did not feel it.
When will I awaken,
so that I can seek another drink?”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:1 When people are in society, they must know how to conduct themselves. Proverbs claims to impart an art of how to live.
- Proverbs 23:2 Control yourself: literally, “put a knife to your throat”—a proverbial metaphor for restraining one’s appetites.
- Proverbs 23:4 This is an excellent warning: power exposes one to the temptation to amass a fortune with ill-gotten goods: “The love of money is the root of all evils” (1 Tim 6:10; see Prov 15:27; 28:20; Heb 13:5). We must place our trust in God not money (see Jer 17:11; Lk 12:21; 1 Tim 6:17).
- Proverbs 23:6 What good is accepting an invitation that is given out of envy rather than friendship!
- Proverbs 23:9 Despise the wisdom of your comments: fools despise wisdom (Prov 1:7), hate knowledge and correction (Prov 1:22; 12:11), and hurl abuse on those who correct them (Prov 9:7).
- Proverbs 23:10 God comes to the aid of those who do not have anyone to defend them, especially orphans and widows, for he is “the Father of orphans and the defender of widows” (Ps 68:6; see also Jer 50:34). Will take up their cause: see Pss 12:6; 140:13; Isa 3:14-16; Mal 3:5.
- Proverbs 23:12 A father here speaks to his son in order to counsel him, for wisdom is tradition, an apprenticeship in how to behave, the acceptance of an ideal that has shown its value. The conceptions of education set forth undoubtedly deserve to be reviewed and adapted in accordance with the evolution of cultures. But doesn’t the joy of parents consist in knowing that they are understood when they bear witness from the best of themselves!
- Proverbs 23:14 The ancients thought that in order to give instruction one has to be severe (see Prov 19:18). In this ancient conception, a good education was the guarantee of good behavior. Hence, it was a buffer against the punishment of God reserved for the wicked and against the punishment of the netherworld, i.e., death.
- Proverbs 23:17 Fear of the Lord: see note on Prov 1:7. Future . . . hope: see Prov 24:14; Pss 9:19; 37:37; 73:24; Jer 29:11.
- Proverbs 23:20 Do not consort with drunkards: see notes on verses 29-35; 20:1. Drunkenness is also condemned in Deut 21:20; Mt 24:49; Lk 21:34; Rom 13:13; 1 Cor 6:10; Gal 5:21; Eph 5:18; 1 Tim 3:3; 1 Pet 4:3.
- Proverbs 23:22 Do not despise your mother: see Prov 15:20; 30:17.
- Proverbs 23:26 The danger of letting oneself be led astray by a woman who prostitutes herself is described more at length in Prov 5:2; see also note on Prov 2:16.
- Proverbs 23:29 This portrait of a drunkard is lacking in no detail. The last verse indicates the most damaging effect of drunkenness on the drunkard: the desire to drink again and total unconcern for bodily or spiritual harm.
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
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.


