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Proverbs 23
Lexham English Bible
Proverbs 23
Lexham English Bible
23 When you sit to eat with a ruler,
you shall surely observe what is before you,
2 and you shall put a knife to your throat
if you have a big appetite.[a]
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
for[b] it is food of deception.
4 Do not tire in order to become rich;
out of your understanding, may you desist.
5 Your eyes will alight[c] on it, but there is nothing to it,
for suddenly it will make for itself wings
like an eagle and it will be exhausted in the heavens.
6 Do not eat the bread of the stingy,[d]
and do not desire his delicacies.
7 For, like hair in his throat,[e] so it is.[f]
“Eat and drink!” he will say to you,
but his heart will not be with you.
8 Your morsel you have eaten, you will vomit it up,
and you will waste your pleasant words.
9 In the ears of a fool do not speak,
for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Do not remove an ancient boundary marker,
and on the fields of orphans do not encroach;
11 For their redeemer is strong,
he himself will plead their cause against you.
12 Apply your heart[g] to instruction,
and your ear to sayings of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child,
if you will beat him with the rod, he will not die.
14 As for you, with the rod you shall beat him,
and his life[h] you will save from Sheol.[i]
15 My child, if your heart[j] is wise,
my heart will be glad—even me!
16 And my insides[k] will rejoice
when your lips speak what is upright.
17 May your heart[l] not envy the sinners,
but live in fear of Yahweh all day.[m]
18 Surely[n] there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
19 You, my child, hear and be wise,
and direct your heart[o] on the road.
20 Do not be among drinkers of wine,
among gluttonous eaters of their meat.[p]
21 For the drunkard and gluttonous, they will become poor,
and with rags, drowsiness will clothe them.
22 Listen to your father—he who gave you life,[q]
and do not despise your mother when[r] she is old.
23 Buy truth and do not sell it,
wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will surely rejoice;
he who bears a wise person will be happy with him.
25 May your father and your mother be glad,
and may she who bore you rejoice.
26 My child, may you give your heart[s] to me,
and may your eyes delight in my ways.
27 For a deep pit is a prostitute,[t]
and a narrow well is an adulteress.[u]
28 She is also like a robber lying in wait,
and the faithless among mankind she increases.
29 To whom is woe? To whom is sorrow? To whom are quarrels? To whom is complaint?
To whom are wounds without cause? To whom is redness of the eyes?
30 To those who linger over wine,
to those who come to try mixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles[v] on the cup,
going down smoothly.
32 In the end,[w] it will bite like a serpent,
and it will sting like an adder.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart[x] will speak perverse things.
34 And you will be like him who lies down in the heart of the sea,
and like him who lies down on top of a mast.
35 “They struck me; I was not hurt. They beat me; I did not know it.
When I will awake, I will continue; I will seek it again.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:2 Literally “lord/master of life”
- Proverbs 23:3 Hebrew “and”
- Proverbs 23:5 Literally “cause to fly”
- Proverbs 23:6 Literally “stingy of eye”
- Proverbs 23:7 Literally “soul,” or “inner self”
- Proverbs 23:7 Or “is he”
- Proverbs 23:12 Or “mind”
- Proverbs 23:14 Or “soul,” or “inner self”
- Proverbs 23:14 A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
- Proverbs 23:15 Or “mind”
- Proverbs 23:16 Literally “kidneys”
- Proverbs 23:17 Or “mind”
- Proverbs 23:17 Literally “all the day”
- Proverbs 23:18 Literally “For if”
- Proverbs 23:19 Or “mind”
- Proverbs 23:20 Literally “meat for them”
- Proverbs 23:22 Literally “caused you to be born”
- Proverbs 23:22 Or “for, because”
- Proverbs 23:26 Or “mind”
- Proverbs 23:27 Or “whore”
- Proverbs 23:27 Literally “a foreign woman”
- Proverbs 23:31 Literally “gives its eye”
- Proverbs 23:32 Literally “end him”
- Proverbs 23:33 Or “mind”
Proverbs 23
New International Version
Proverbs 23
New International Version
Saying 7
23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what[a] is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,(A)
for that food is deceptive.
Saying 8
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 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
6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;(D)
7 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.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.
Saying 10
9 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
- Proverbs 23:1 Or who
- Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.