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23 ·If [or When] you sit down to eat with a ruler,
    notice ·the food that [L what] is in front of you.
·Control yourself [L Place a knife at your throat]
    ·if you have a big [or to control your] appetite.
Don’t ·be greedy [long] for his fine foods,
    because that food might be ·a trick [false; deceptive].

Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich;
    be wise enough to ·control [stop] yourself.
·Wealth can vanish in the wink of an eye [L Your eye can fly to it and it will be gone].
    It can seem to grow wings
and fly away like an eagle.

Don’t eat the food of ·selfish [stingy; L evil eye] people;
    don’t ·be greedy [long] for their ·fine foods [delicacies].
·Selfish people are always worrying
    about how much the food costs [L They calculate in their minds; or They are like a hair in the throat].
They tell you, “Eat and drink,”
    but ·they don’t really mean it [L their heart is not with you].
You will ·throw up [vomit] the ·little [L crust] you have eaten,
    and you will have wasted your ·kind [pleasant] words.

Don’t speak in the ears of fools [Matt. 7:6];
they will only ·ignore [despise] your ·wise [insightful] words.

10 Don’t move an ·old stone that marks a border [ancient boundary marker; 22:28],
    and don’t ·take [invade] fields that belong to orphans.
11 God, their ·defender [redeemer], is strong;
    he will ·take their side [bring charges; make accusations] against you.

12 ·Remember what you are taught [L Bring your heart to discipline/instruction],
·and listen carefully [L your ear] to words of knowledge.

13 Don’t ·fail to punish [L withhold instruction/discipline from] children.
    If you ·spank them [L strike them with a rod], they won’t die.
14 If you ·spank them [L strike them with a rod],
    you will save ·them from death [L their lives from Sheol/the grave].

15 My child, if ·you are [L your heart is] wise,
    then ·I [L my heart] will be happy.
16 ·I will be so pleased [L My inmost being will rejoice]
    if you speak ·what is right [with integrity].

17 Don’t let your heart envy sinners [Ps. 73],
    but always ·respect [fear; 1:7] the Lord.
18 Then you will have a future,
    and your ·wishes [hopes] will ·come true [L not be cut off].

19 Listen, my child, and be wise.
    Keep your ·mind on what is right [L heart straight on the path].
20 Don’t ·drink too much [get drunk on] wine
    or ·eat too much food [L stuff yourself with meat].
21 Those who ·drink [get drunk] and ·eat too much [stuff themselves] ·become poor [lose possessions].
    They ·sleep too much [or are in a stupor] and end up wearing rags.

22 Listen to your father, who ·gave you life [begot you],
    and do not ·forget [despise] your mother when she is old.
23 ·Learn [L Buy; Acquire] the truth and never ·reject [L sell] it.
    ·Get [Buy; Acquire] wisdom, ·self-control [instruction; discipline], and understanding.
24 The father of a ·good [righteous] child is very happy;
    parents who have wise children are glad because of them.
25 Make your father and mother happy;
    give ·your mother [L the one who bore you] a reason to be glad.

26 My son, ·pay attention [L give your heart] to me,
    and ·watch closely what I do [let your eyes watch/or delight in my path].
27 A prostitute is as dangerous as a deep pit,
    and an ·unfaithful wife [L foreign woman] is like a narrow well.
28 They ambush you like robbers
    and cause many men to be unfaithful to their wives.

29 Who ·has trouble [L cries “Woe!”]? Who ·has pain [L cries “Alas!”]?
    Who ·fights [has conflicts]? Who complains?
Who has unnecessary bruises?
    Who has ·bloodshot [glazed] eyes?
30 It is people who ·drink too much [L linger over] wine,
    who ·try out all different kinds of strong drinks [L go in search of the mixing vessel].
31 Don’t stare at the wine when it is red,
    when it sparkles in the cup,
    when it goes down smoothly.
32 Later it bites like a snake
    with poison ·in its fangs [L like a viper].
33 Your eyes will see strange sights,
    and your ·mind will be confused [L heart will speak perverse things].
34 You will ·feel dizzy as if you’re in a storm on [L be like one who lies down in the heart of] the ocean,
    as if you’re on top of a ship’s ·sails [mast].
35 You will think, “They hit me, but ·I’m not hurt [L I feel no pain].
    They beat me up, but I don’t ·remember [know] it.
I wish I could wake up.
    Then I would ·get another drink [L look for it].”

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