PROVERBS 23 [†] When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what [1] is before you,

2 and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite.

3  c Do not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food.

4[^][†]  d Do not toil to acquire wealth;

 e be discerning enough to desist.

5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

 f for suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven.

6[†]  g Do not eat the bread of a man who is  h stingy; [2]

 i do not desire his delicacies,

7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. [3]

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

but his  j heart is not with you.

8 You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,

and waste your pleasant words.

9[†] Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

for he will despise the good sense of your words.

10[†]  k Do not move an ancient landmark

or enter the fields of the fatherless,

11 for their  l Redeemer is strong;

he will  m plead their cause against you.

12[†] Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear to words of knowledge.

13[^][†] Do not withhold  n discipline from a child;

 o if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

14 If you strike him with the rod,

you will  p save his soul from Sheol.

15[†]  q My son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad.

16 My  r inmost being [4] will exult

when your lips speak  s what is right.

17[†] Let not your heart  t envy sinners,

but continue in  u the fear of the LORD all the day.

18 Surely  v there is a future,

and your  w hope will not be cut off.

19[^][†] Hear, my son, and  x be wise,

and  y direct your heart in the way.

20 Be not among  z drunkards [5]

or among  a gluttonous eaters of meat,

21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and  b slumber will clothe them with rags.

22[†]  c Listen to your father who gave you life,

 d and do not despise your mother when she is old.

23  e Buy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

24  f The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

25  f Let your father and mother be glad;

let  g her who bore you rejoice.

26[†] My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe [6] my ways.

27 For a prostitute is  h a deep pit;

 i an adulteress [7] is a narrow  j well.

28  k She lies in wait like a robber

and increases the traitors among mankind.

29[†]  l Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has  m wounds without cause?

Who has  n redness of eyes?

30[^] Those who  o tarry long over wine;

those who go to try  p mixed wine.

31 Do not look at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly.

32 In the end it  q bites like a serpent

and stings like an adder.

33 Your eyes will see strange things,

and your heart utter  r perverse things.

34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

like one who lies on the top of a mast. [8]

35 “They  s struck me,” you will say, [9] “but I was not hurt;

they beat me, but I did not feel it.

When shall I awake?

I  t must have another drink.”