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23 ¶ Lè chèf envite ou manje sou menm tab ak li, pa janm bliye ki moun li ye.

Si ou se yon moun ki gen bon lapeti, kontwole bouch ou.

Pa pote lanvi sou bon ti manje l'ap ofri ou yo. Se ka yon pèlen li tann pou ou.

¶ Pa touye tèt ou ap kouri dèyè lajan pou ou vin rich. Wete lide ou sou sa.

Paske, anvan ou bat je ou, li gen tan disparèt. Ou ta di lajan gen zèl. Li rete konsa, li vole, li ale.

¶ Pa chita pou ou manje sou menm tab ak moun ki tikoulout. Pa pote lanvi sou manje l'ap ofri ou.

Li chich ata ak tèt pa li, ale wè avè ou. L'ap di ou: Manje non, monchè! Bwè non! Men se pa ak tout kè li l'ap di ou sa.

W'a vonmi tou sa ou te manje a. Tout bèl pawòl ou te di l' yo p'ap sèvi ou anyen.

¶ Pa chache fè yon moun san konprann konprann anyen. Li p'ap tande anyen nan sa w'ap di l' la. Lèfini, l'ap meprize ou met sou li.

10 ¶ Pa janm deplase bòn tè kote yo te ye depi lontan an. Pa antre sou jaden ki pou timoun san papa.

11 Se Bondye k'ap defann yo, li gen anpil pouvwa. L'a plede kòz yo kont ou.

12 ¶ Mete tèt ou an plas lè y'ap moutre ou kichòy. Louvri zòrèy ou lè yon moun ki gen konesans ap pale.

13 Ou pa bezwen pè bat yon timoun. Yon bèl kal, sa p'ap touye l'.

14 Okontrè, si ou bat li, w'a sove nanm li pou l' pa mouri.

15 Pitit mwen, si ou gen bon konprann, mwen p'ap manke kontan.

16 M'a kontan anpil lè m'a tande bon pawòl k'ap soti nan bouch ou.

17 ¶ Pa pote lanvi sou moun k'ap fè sa ki mal. Nan tou sa w'ap fè, toujou gen krentif pou Bondye.

18 Paske gen denmen. Se pa pou gremesi w'ap tann sa w'ap tann lan.

19 ¶ Louvri zòrèy ou, gason mwen, pou ou ka gen bon konprann, pou ou ka mache dwat. Kalkile byen kote w'ap mete pye ou, pou ou ka mache dwat.

20 Pa fè zanmi avèk moun k'ap bwè twòp, ak moun k'ap fè safte.

21 Paske moun k'ap fè metye bwè ak moun ki afre ap vin pòv. Si ou pase tout tan ou ap dòmi, talè konsa w'ap mache yon men devan yon men dèyè.

22 Pitit mwen, koute papa ou ki fè ou. Pa meprize manman ou lè li fin granmoun.

23 Verite, konesans, lespri ak bon konprann, se bagay ou mèt peye chè pou ou genyen. Men, pa janm vann sa.

24 Papa ki gen yon pitit k'ap mache dwat ap toujou kontan. Manman ki fè yon pitit ki gen bon konprann ap toujou gen kè kontan.

25 Fè kè papa ou ak manman ou kontan. Fè kè manman ki fè ou la kontan.

26 Pitit mwen, louvri zòrèy ou pou tande sa m'ap di ou. Louvri je ou byen pou ou wè jan m'ap viv.

27 Fanm jennès se tankou yon twou pèlen, fanm adiltè se tankou yon pi jis jis.

28 Tankou vòlò, y'ap pare pèlen pou ou. Yo fè anpil gason pèdi tèt yo.

29 ¶ Ki moun ki nan tèt chaje, ki nan lapenn? Ki moun ki toujou nan kont, ki tou tan ap plenyen? Ki moun k'ap pran kou san rezon, ki gen je yo tou wouj?

30 Se moun k'ap bwè twòp gwòg, moun k'ap kouri dèyè tranpe.

31 Pa kite bweson pran nanm ou, ou te mèt wè jan li bèl, jan li klè nan vè a. Lè ou bwè l', li desann dous nan gòj ou.

32 Men, pita ou santi se tankou yon move sèpan ki mòde ou, yon sèpan aspik ki pike ou.

33 W'ap wè tout bagay ap vire devan je ou, w'ap depale.

34 W'ap santi tankou si ou te sou lanmè: w'ap tankou si ou te sou tèt yon ma batiman.

35 Lè sa a w'a di: Gen lè yo bat mwen, mwen pa santi sa. Gen lè yo te ban m' kou, mwen pa konn sa. Kilè m'a leve la a? Mwen ta pran yon ti kou ankò.

Saying 7

23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
    note well what[a] is before you,
and put a knife to your throat
    if you are given to gluttony.
Do not crave his delicacies,(A)
    for that food is deceptive.

Saying 8

Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
    do not trust your own cleverness.
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

Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
    do not crave his delicacies;(D)
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.
You will vomit up the little you have eaten
    and will have wasted your compliments.

Saying 10

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

  1. Proverbs 23:1 Or who
  2. Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is

23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider who and what are before you;

For you will put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to desire.

Be not desirous of his dainties, for it is deceitful food [offered with questionable motives].

Weary not yourself to be rich; cease from your own [human] wisdom.(A)

Will you set your eyes upon wealth, when [suddenly] it is gone? For riches certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

Eat not the bread of him who has a hard, grudging, and envious eye, neither desire his dainty foods;

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. As one who reckons, he says to you, eat and drink, yet his heart is not with you [but is grudging the cost].

The morsel which you have eaten you will vomit up, and your complimentary words will be wasted.

Speak not in the ears of a [self-confident] fool, for he will despise the [godly] Wisdom of your words.(B)

10 Remove not the ancient landmark and enter not into the fields of the fatherless,(C)

11 For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you.

12 Apply your mind to instruction and correction and your ears to words of knowledge.

13 Withhold not discipline from the child; for if you strike and punish him with the [reedlike] rod, he will not die.

14 You shall whip him with the rod and deliver his life from Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead).

15 My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will be glad, even mine;

16 Yes, my heart will rejoice when your lips speak right things.

17 Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord all the day long.

18 For surely there is a latter end [a future and a reward], and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.

19 Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your mind in the way [of the Lord].

20 Do not associate with winebibbers; be not among them nor among gluttonous eaters of meat,(D)

21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

22 Hearken to your father, who begot you, and despise not your mother when she is old.

23 Buy the truth and sell it not; not only that, but also get discernment and judgment, instruction and understanding.

24 The father of the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright, in right standing with God) shall greatly rejoice, and he who becomes the father of a wise child shall have joy 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 and delight in my ways,

27 For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a loose woman is a narrow pit.

28 She also lies in wait as a robber or as one waits for prey, and she increases the treacherous among men.

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness and dimness of eyes?

30 Those who tarry long at the wine, those who go to seek and try mixed wine.(E)

31 Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the wineglass, when it goes down smoothly.

32 At the last it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.

33 [Under the influence of wine] your eyes will behold strange things [and loose women] and your mind will utter things turned the wrong way [untrue, incorrect, and petulant].

34 Yes, you will be [as unsteady] as he who lies down in the midst of the sea, and [as open to disaster] as he who lies upon the top of a mast.

35 You will say, They struck me, but I was not hurt! They beat me [as with a hammer], but I did not feel it! When shall I awake? I will crave and seek more wine again [and escape reality].