Proverbs 23
- 1
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you, Begin Abide·
- 2
and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite. Begin Abide·
- 3
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. Begin Abide·
- 4
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. Begin Abide·
- 5
When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky. Begin Abide·
- 6
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies; Begin Abide·
- 7
for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. Begin Abide·
- 8
You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words. Begin Abide·
- 9
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. Begin Abide·
- 10
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, Begin Abide·
- 11
for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you. Begin Abide·
- 12
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. Begin Abide·
- 13
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die. Begin Abide·
- 14
Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol. Begin Abide·
- 15
My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice. Begin Abide·
- 16
My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. Begin Abide·
- 17
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD. Begin Abide·
- 18
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Begin Abide·
- 19
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course. Begin Abide·
- 20
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat. Begin Abide·
- 21
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags. Begin Abide·
- 22
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Begin Abide·
- 23
Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding. Begin Abide·
- 24
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him. Begin Abide·
- 25
May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice! Begin Abide·
- 26
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways. Begin Abide·
- 27
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well. Begin Abide·
- 28
Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men. Begin Abide·
- 29
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes? Begin Abide·
- 30
Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks. Begin Abide·
- 31
Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. Begin Abide·
- 32
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. Begin Abide·
- 33
Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities. Begin Abide·
- 34
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast: Begin Abide·
- 35
“They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?” Begin Abide·