Proverbs 23
International Children’s Bible
23 If you sit down to eat with a ruler,
notice the food that is in front of you.
2 Control yourself
if you have a big appetite.
3 Don’t be greedy for his fine foods.
He might use that rich food to trick you.
4 Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.
Be wise enough to control yourself.
5 Wealth can vanish in the wink of an eye.
It seems to grow wings
and fly away like an eagle in the sky.
6 Don’t eat the food of a selfish person.
Don’t be greedy for his fine foods.
7 A selfish person is always worrying
about how much the food costs.
He tells you, “Eat and drink.”
But he doesn’t really mean it.
8 So you will feel like throwing up the little bit you have eaten.
And you will have wasted your kind words.
9 Don’t speak to a foolish person.
He will only ignore your wise words.
10 Don’t move an old stone that shows where somebody’s land is.
And don’t take fields that belong to orphans.
11 God, their defender, is strong.
He will take their side against you.
12 Remember what you are taught.
And listen carefully to words of knowledge.
13 Don’t fail to punish a child.
If you spank him, you will keep him from dying.
14 If you punish him with a spanking,
you will save him from a fool’s death.
15 My child, if you are wise,
then I will be happy.
16 I will be so pleased
if you speak what is right.
17 Don’t envy sinners.
But always respect the Lord.
18 If you do, you will have hope for the future.
Your wishes will come true.
19 Listen, my child, and be wise.
Keep your mind on what is right.
20 Don’t be one of those who drink too much wine
or who eat too much food.
21 Those who drink too much and eat too much become poor.
They sleep too much and end up wearing rags.
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life.
And do not forget your mother when she is old.
23 Learn the truth and never reject it.
Get wisdom, self-control and understanding.
24 The father of a good child is very happy.
The person who has a wise son is glad because of him.
25 Make your father and mother happy.
Give your mother a reason to be glad.
26 My son, pay attention to me.
And watch closely what I do.
27 A prostitute is as dangerous as a deep pit.
And an unfaithful wife is like a narrow well.
28 They ambush you like robbers.
And they cause many men to be unfaithful to their wives.
29-30 Some people drink too much wine.
They try out all the different kinds of drinks.
So they have trouble. They are sad.
They fight. They complain.
They have unnecessary bruises.
They have bloodshot eyes.
31 Don’t stare at the wine’s pretty, red color.
It may sparkle in the cup.
It may go down your throat smoothly.
32 But later it bites like a snake.
Like a snake, it poisons you.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights.
And your mind will be confused.
34 You will feel dizzy, as if you’re out on the stormy ocean.
You will feel as if you’re on top of a ship’s sails.
35 You will think, “They hit me, but I’m not hurt!
They have beaten me up, but I don’t remember it.
I wish I could wake up.
Then I would get another drink.”
Proverbs 23
EasyEnglish Bible
More wise thoughts
23 6. When you sit down to eat a meal with a ruler, be careful how you eat. 2 Even if you enjoy your food, do not eat too much of it. 3 Do not want his special food for yourself. He may be trying to deceive you.
4 7. Do not work so hard to become rich that you make yourself ill. Be wise and rest when you need to. 5 Your money can disappear very quickly. It may seem to grow wings and then fly far away like an eagle.
6 8. Do not go and eat a meal with someone who hates to spend his money. His food may be good, but do not be greedy for it.
7 He says, ‘Eat and drink as much as you want,’ but he does not really mean that. He is thinking about the cost of the food.
8 Even if you only eat a little of his food, it will make you sick. All your nice words to him will be useless.
9 9. Do not speak to foolish people. They will think that your wise words are silly.
10 10. Never move a stone that has always shown the border of someone's land. Do not take for yourself the fields of people who have no family to help them. 11 God himself will be the relative who helps them. He will speak against you in court.
12 11. Listen carefully to your teacher and study well. Then you will learn knowledge.
13 12. Remember to warn your children when they do something wrong. If you punish them with a stick, you will not kill them. 14 Punishment may save them from death.
15 13. My child, if you become wise, I will be happy. 16 When I hear you speak true words, it will make me very happy.
17 14. Do not be jealous of sinners. Always respect the Lord and obey him in everything that you do. 18 Then you will be happy in future days. What you hope for will surely happen.
19 15. Listen to me, my child. Learn to be wise and to live in a good way.
20 Do not be a friend of people who become drunk. Do not be a friend of greedy people who eat too much. 21 People who are like that soon become poor. They sleep too much, and their clothes have holes in them.
22 16. Listen to your father. You would not be alive without him. Continue to respect your mother when she becomes old.
23 Truth, wisdom, good teaching and knowledge are valuable things. Buy them for yourself. Do not sell them.
24 The father of a righteous person will be very happy. He will be proud of a wise child. 25 So make your father and your mother proud of you. Do things that will make your mother happy.
26 17. Listen to me carefully, my son. Watch how I live.
27 Prostitutes are a dangerous trap for men. Women who are not faithful to their husbands can cause men to fall into danger, like a deep well. 28 They are like robbers who wait to attack people. They take more and more men away from their wives.
29-30 18. People who drink too much wine have many problems. Do you see someone who is in trouble? Someone who is very sad? Someone who argues or complains all the time? Do you see someone with wounds on his body for no reason, or someone with red eyes? Then you are looking at someone who likes to drink wine until late at night. He is someone who likes to try different drinks.
31 So do not even look at that beautiful red wine! Do not think about the pleasure it would give to you. 32 In the end, it will bite you, like a snake with its poison. 33 Your eyes will see strange things. Your mind will be confused so that you say crazy things.
34 You will roll about, like a man who tries to sleep on a ship in a storm. 35 You will say, ‘Somebody must have hit me, but I do not remember what happened. I need to wake up soon and have another drink.’
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.
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
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.