Pro 23 | NASB2020 | STEP | When you sit down to dine with a ruler , Consider carefully what is before you,

Proverbs 23

On Life and Conduct

1 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Consider carefully ^{▼▼Or who}what is before you,
2 And put a knife to your throat
If you are a ^bperson of great appetite.
3 Do not ^cdesire his delicacies,
For it is deceptive food.

4 ^dDo not weary yourself to gain wealth;
^{▼▼Lit Refrain from your understanding of it
,} ^fStop dwelling on it.
5 ^{▼▼Lit Will your eyes fly upon it and it is not?}When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.
For ^hwealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

6 ⁱDo not eat the bread of ^{▼▼Lit an evil eye}a ^kselfish person;
Or desire his delicacies;
7 For as he ^{▼▼Lit reckons in his soul}thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!”
But ^mhis heart is not with you.
8 You will ⁿvomit up ^{▼▼Lit your}the morsel you have eaten
And waste your ^{▼▼Lit pleasant words}compliments.

9 ^qDo not speak ^{▼▼Lit in the ears of a}to be heard by a fool,
For he will ^sdespise the wisdom of your words.

10 Do not move the ancient boundary
Or ^tgo into the fields of the fatherless,
11 For their ^uRedeemer is strong;
^vHe will plead their case against you.
12 Apply your heart to discipline,
And your ears to words of knowledge.

13 ^wDo not withhold discipline from a child;
Though you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
14 You shall strike him with the rod
And ^xrescue his soul from Sheol.

15 My son, if your heart is ^ywise,
My own heart also will be glad,
16 And my ^{▼▼Lit kidneys}innermost being will rejoice
When your lips speak ^aawhat is right.

17 ^abDo not let your heart envy sinners,
But live in ^{▼▼Or reverence for}the ^adfear of the Lord ^{▼▼Lit all the day}always.
18 Certainly there is a ^{▼▼Lit latter end
,} ^agfuture,
And your ^ahhope will not be cut off.
19 Listen, my son, and ^aibe wise,
And ^ajdirect your heart in the way.
20 Do not be with ^akheavy drinkers of wine,
Or with ^algluttonous eaters of meat;
21 For the ^amheavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And ^androwsiness will clothe one with rags.

22 ^aoListen to your father, who fathered you,
And ^apdo not despise your mother when she is old.
23 ^aqBuy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And ^arhe who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25 Let your ^asfather and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

26 ^atGive me your heart, my son,
And let your eyes ^{▼▼Another reading is observe
,} ^avdelight in my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a ^awdeep pit,
And a ^{▼▼Lit foreign
,} ^aystrange woman is a narrow well.
28 Certainly she ^azlurks as a robber,
And increases the treacherous among mankind.

29 Who has ^bawoe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has red eyes?
30 Those who ^bblinger long over wine,
Those who go to ^{▼▼Or search out}taste ^bdmixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
When it ^{▼▼Lit gives its eye}sparkles in the cup,
When it ^bfgoes down smoothly;
32 In the end it ^bgbites like a snake
And stings like a ^bhviper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things
And your ^{▼▼Lit heart}mind will ^bjsay perverse things.
34 And you will be like one who lies down in the ^{▼▼Lit heart}middle of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a ^{▼▼Or lookout}mast.
35 “They ^bmstruck me, but I did not become ^{▼▼I.e., from the effect of wounds}ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When will I awake?
I will ^boseek ^{▼▼Lit it yet again}another drink.”