Proverbs 23
New King James Version
Listen to Your Father
23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what 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 (A)Do not overwork to be rich;
(B)Because of your own understanding, cease!
5 [a]Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
6 Do not eat the bread of (C)a[b] miser,
Nor desire his delicacies;
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
“Eat and drink!” (D)he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,
And waste your pleasant words.
9 (E)Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Do not remove the ancient [c]landmark,
Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;
11 (F)For their Redeemer is mighty;
He will plead their cause against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction,
And your ears to words of knowledge.
13 (G)Do not withhold correction from a child,
For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
14 You shall beat him with a rod,
And deliver his soul from [d]hell.
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;
16 Yes, my [e]inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak right things.
17 (H)Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But (I)be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day;
18 (J)For surely there is a [f]hereafter,
And your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear, my son, and be wise;
And guide your heart in the way.
20 (K)Do not mix with winebibbers,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
22 (L)Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 (M)Buy the truth, and do not sell it,
Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 (N)The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
25 Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her who bore you rejoice.
26 My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways.
27 (O)For a harlot is a deep pit,
And a seductress is a narrow well.
28 (P)She also lies in wait as for a victim,
And increases the unfaithful among men.
29 (Q)Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who (R)has redness of eyes?
30 (S)Those who linger long at the wine,
Those who go in search of (T)mixed wine.
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it [g]swirls around smoothly;
32 At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.
34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the [h]midst of the sea,
Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
35 “They(U) have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall (V)I awake, that I may seek another drink?”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:5 Lit. Will you cause your eyes to fly upon it and it is not?
- Proverbs 23:6 Lit. one who has an evil eye
- Proverbs 23:10 boundary
- Proverbs 23:14 Or Sheol
- Proverbs 23:16 Lit. kidneys
- Proverbs 23:18 Future, lit. latter end
- Proverbs 23:31 goes around
- Proverbs 23:34 Lit. heart
Proverbs 23
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.
箴言 23
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
不可贪吃，当求智慧
23 你与官长一起坐席吃饭的时候，
要特别留意在你面前的是谁。
2 你若是个贪吃的人，
就当把刀子放在喉咙上。
3 不可贪恋他的美食，
因为那是骗人的食物。
4 不要劳碌求富，
你要明智地放下这企图。
5 你的眼睛注视在钱财上，钱财却不见了，
因为钱财必长起翅膀，
如鹰飞往天上。
6 不可吃吝啬人的饭，
也不可贪恋他的美食。
7 因为他心里怎样计算，他的为人就是怎样；
他虽然对你说：“请吃，请喝！”
他的心里却没有你。
8 你所吃的那一点食物，必要吐出来，
你道谢的美言，也都白费了。
9 不要说话给愚昧人听，
因为他必藐视你明慧的言语。
10 你不可迁移古时的地界；
也不可侵占孤儿的田地。
11 因为他们的救赎主大有能力，
他必向你为他们的案件伸冤。
12 你要专心领受教训，
留心听知识的言语。
13 要管教孩童，不可姑息，
你虽然用杖打他，他也不会死；
14 你要用杖打他，
就可以救他的灵魂免下阴间。
15 我儿，如果你的心有智慧，
我的心也就欢喜；
16 你的嘴唇说正直话的时候，
我的内心就欢乐。
17 你的心不要嫉妒罪人，
只要时常敬畏耶和华。
18 因为万事必有结局，
你的盼望也不会断绝。
19 我儿，你要听，要有智慧，
要引导你的心走在正路上。
20 酗酒的人，不可与他们来往；
暴食的人，不要与他们为友。
21 因为酗酒暴食的人必致穷乏；
贪睡的人必穿破衣。
22 你要听从生你的父亲；
也不可因为母亲老了，就藐视她。
23 你要买真理，不可出卖；
要得智慧、教训和哲理。
24 义人的父亲必大有快乐；
生下智慧的儿子的，必因儿子欢喜。
25 要使你的父母欢喜，
使生下你的快乐。
26 我儿，把你的心给我；
你的眼目要关注我的道路。
27 因为妓女是深坑，
淫妇是狭窄的井。
28 她像强盗一样埋伏，
使人间增添很多奸诈的人。
29 谁有祸患？谁有愁苦？
谁有纷争？谁有怨言？
谁无故受伤？
谁的眼睛赤红？
30 就是那些沉湎于酒，
常去品尝调和了的酒的人。
31 你不要看酒怎样发红，
在杯中怎样闪烁诱人，
喝下去怎样舒畅，
32 最后它却像咬你的蛇、
像刺你的毒蛇。
33 你的眼睛必看见怪异的事，
你的心必说乖谬的话。
34 你必好象躺在海中，
又好象躺在桅杆顶上。
35 你必说：“人打我，我不痛；
人鞭打我，我不晓得；
我甚么时候清醒？
我还要再去寻酒。”
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
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
