23 When thou sittest to eat with the prince, perceive thou diligently what things be set before thy face,

² and set thou a coulter in thy throat. If nevertheless thou hast power on thy soul, (and set thou a knife at thy own throat, if thou hast not power over thy self.)

³ desire thou not of his meats, in whom is the bread of lying. (Do not thou desire any of his food, for he is not what he seemeth to be/for this is not what it seemeth to be.)

⁶ Eat thou not with an envious man, and desire thou not his meats; (Do not thou eat with the envious, and do not thou desire his food;)

⁷ for at the likeness of a false diviner, and of a conjecturer, that is, (an) expounder of dreams, he guesseth that, that he knoweth not. He shall say to thee, Eat thou and drink; and his soul is not with thee (but his heart is not for thee/but his heart is not with thee).

⁸ Thou shalt spew out the meat, which thou hast eaten; and thou shalt lose thy fair words (and thy flattery shall have been wasted).

⁹ Speak thou not in the ears of unwise men (Speak thou not in the ears of the unwise); for they shall despise the teaching of thy speech.

⁶ (As) An halting man in feet, and drinking wickedness, that is, drink harmful to himself, (is) he that sendeth words by a fond messenger. (Like a person who is lame, and like someone who drinketh a drink that is harmful to himself, is he who sendeth words by a foolish messenger.)

¹⁰ Doom determineth causes; and he that setteth silence to a fool, assuageth ires. (Judgement decideth a person’s case; and he who telleth a fool to be silent, lesseneth anger.)

²⁴ An enemy is understood by his lips, when he treateth guiles in his heart. (An enemy can be understood by his words, when he treateth deceitfulness in his heart.)

²⁵ (Yea,) When he maketh low his voice, believe thou not to him; for seven wickednesses be in his heart.

²⁶ The malice of him that covereth hatred guilefully, shall be showed in a council. (The malice of one who deceitfully covereth hatred, shall be shown before the assembly.)

²⁷ He that delveth a ditch, shall fall into it; and if a man walloweth a stone, it shall turn again (on)to him.

²⁸ A false tongue loveth not [the] truth; and a slippery mouth worketh fallings.

⁶ Better be the wounds of him that loveth, than the guileful kisses of him that hateth. (Better be the wounds of him who loveth, than the deceitful kisses of him who hateth.)

⁵ A man that speaketh by flattering and feigned words to his friend, spreadeth abroad a net to his steps.