Saying 5

28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(A)
    set up by your ancestors.

Saying 6

29 Do you see someone skilled(B) in their work?
    They will serve(C) before kings;(D)
    they will not serve before officials of low rank.

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,(E)
    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,(F)
    for they will surely sprout wings
    and fly off to the sky like an eagle.(G)

Saying 9

Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
    do not crave his delicacies;(H)
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.(I)

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

Bible Gateway Recommends