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The Proverbs

⭑ Berean Study Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

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- Chapter 23 -

Delicious delicacies

(1 Timothy 6:17-19; James 5:1-6)
1
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,(a)
2
and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
3
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5
When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
6
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man,(b) and do not crave his delicacies;
7
for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost.(c) “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8
You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11
for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
12
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14
Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.

Wise words to a son

15
My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
16
My inmost being (d) will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
18
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
19
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
20
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
21
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
22
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23
Invest in truth and never sell it— in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
25
May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
26
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress (e) is a narrow well.
28
Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.
29
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30
Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
31
Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
32
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
33
Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
34
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast:
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?”

Footnotes

(a)23:1 Or who is before you
(b)23:6 Literally of him whose eye is evil
(c)23:7 Or for as he calculates in his soul, so is he
(d)23:16 Hebrew My kidneys
(e)23:27 Or a foreign woman or a wayward wife

Delicious delicacies

(1 Timothy 6:17-19; James 5:1-6)
1
When you sit to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before you;
2
put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite.
3
Don’t be desirous of his dainties, since they are deceitful food.
4
Don’t weary yourself to be rich. In your wisdom, show restraint.
5
Why do you set your eyes on that which is not? For it certainly sprouts wings like an eagle and flies in the sky.
6
Don’t eat the food of him who has a stingy eye, and don’t crave his delicacies,
7
for as he thinks about the cost, so he is. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8
You will vomit up the morsel which you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9
Don’t speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10
Don’t move the ancient boundary stone. Don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11
for their Defender is strong. He will plead their case against you.
12
Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to the words of knowledge.
13
Don’t withhold correction from a child. If you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
14
Punish him with the rod, and save his soul from Sheol.(a)

Wise words to a son

15
My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad, even mine.
16
Yes, my heart will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17
Don’t let your heart envy sinners, but rather fear the LORD all day long.
18
Indeed surely there is a future hope, and your hope will not be cut off.
19
Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path!
20
Don’t be among ones drinking too much wine, or those who gorge themselves on meat;
21
for the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
22
Listen to your father who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
23
Buy the truth, and don’t sell it. Get wisdom, discipline, and understanding.
24
The father of the righteous has great joy. Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him.
25
Let your father and your mother be glad! Let her who bore you rejoice!
26
My son, give me your heart; and let your eyes keep in my ways.
27
For a prostitute is a deep pit; and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28
Yes, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men.
29
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30
Those who stay long at the wine; those who go to seek out mixed wine.
31
Don’t look at the 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 things, and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34
Yes, you will be as he who lies down in the middle of the sea, or as he who lies on top of the rigging:
35
“They hit me, and I was not hurt! They beat me, and I don’t feel it! When will I wake up? I can do it again. I will look for more.”

Footnotes

(a)23:14 Sheol is the place of the dead.
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