Book of Proverbs, Chapter 23
Proverbs 23 NASB - New American Standard BibleChapter 23 of Proverbs—New American Standard Bible (NASB)
- ¶ When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Consider carefully [a]what is before you, - And put a knife to your throat
If you are a 1man of great appetite. - Do not 2desire his delicacies,
For it is deceptive food. - ¶ 3Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,
4Cease from your [b]consideration of it. - [c]When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.
For 5wealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. - ¶ 6Do not eat the bread of [d]a 7selfish man,
Or desire his delicacies; - For as he [e]thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!”
But 8his heart is not with you. - You will 9vomit up [f]the morsel you have eaten,
And waste your [g]compliments. - ¶ 10Do not speak in the [h]hearing of a fool,
For he will 11despise the wisdom of your words. - ¶ Do not move the ancient boundary
Or 12go into the fields of the fatherless, - For their 13Redeemer is strong;
14He will plead their case against you. - Apply your heart to discipline
And your ears to words of knowledge. - ¶ 15Do not hold back discipline from the child,
Although you [i]strike him with the rod, he will not die. - You shall [j]strike him with the rod
And 16rescue his soul from Sheol. - ¶ My son, if your heart is 17wise,
My own heart also will be glad; - And my [k]inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak 18what is right. - ¶ 19Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But live in the [l]20fear of the LORD [m]always. - Surely there is a [n]21future,
And your 22hope will not be cut off. - Listen, my son, and 23be wise,
And 24direct your heart in the way. - Do not be with 25heavy drinkers of wine,
Or with 26gluttonous eaters of meat; - For the 27heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And 28drowsiness will clothe one with rags. - ¶ 29Listen to your father who begot you,
And 30do not despise your mother when she is old. - 31Buy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom and instruction and understanding. - ¶ The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And 32he who sires a wise son will be glad in him. - Let your 33father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you. - ¶ 34Give me your heart, my son,
And let your eyes [o]35delight in my ways. - For a harlot is a 36deep pit
And an [p]37adulterous woman is a narrow well. - Surely she 38lurks as a robber,
And increases the [q]faithless among men. - ¶ Who has 39woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes? - Those who 40linger long over wine,
Those who go to [r]taste 41mixed wine. - Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it [s]sparkles in the cup,
When it 42goes down smoothly; - At the last it 43bites like a serpent
And stings like a 44viper. - Your eyes will see strange things
And your [t]mind will 45utter perverse things. - And you will be like one who lies down in the [u]middle of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a [v]mast. - “They 46struck me, but I did not become [w]ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When shall I awake?
I will 47seek [x]another drink.”
FOOTNOTES
- ^ Or who
- ^ Or understanding
- ^ Lit Will your eyes fly upon it and it is not?
- ^ Lit an evil eye
- ^ Lit reckons in his soul
- ^ Lit your
- ^ Lit pleasant words
- ^ Lit ears
- ^ Lit smite
- ^ Lit smite
- ^ Lit kidneys
- ^ Or reverence
- ^ Lit all the day
- ^ Lit latter end
- ^ Another reading is observe
- ^ Lit strange
- ^ Lit treacherous
- ^ Or search out
- ^ Lit gives its eye
- ^ Lit heart
- ^ Lit heart
- ^ Or lookout
- ^ I.e. from the effect of wounds
- ^ Lit it yet again
REFERENCES
- ^ Pr 23:20
- ^ Ps 141:4; Pr 23:6; Da 1:5, 8, 13, 15, 16
- ^ Pr 15:27; 28:20; Mt 6:19; 1Ti 6:9; Heb 13:5
- ^ Pr 3:5, 7
- ^ Pr 27:24; 1Ti 6:17
- ^ Ps 141:4
- ^ De 15:9; Pr 28:22
- ^ Pr 26:24, 25
- ^ Pr 25:16
- ^ Mt 7:6
- ^ Pr 1:7
- ^ Je 22:3; Zc 7:10
- ^ Jb 19:25; Je 50:34
- ^ Pr 22:23
- ^ Pr 13:24; 19:18
- ^ 1Co 5:5
- ^ Pr 23:24f; 27:11; 29:3
- ^ Pr 8:6
- ^ Ps 37:1; Pr 24:1, 19
- ^ Pr 28:14
- ^ Ps 19:11; 58:11; Pr 24:14
- ^ Ps 9:18
- ^ Pr 6:6
- ^ Pr 4:23; 9:6
- ^ Pr 20:1; 23:29, 30; Is 5:22; Mt 24:49; Lu 21:34; Ro 13:13; Eph 5:18
- ^ De 21:20; Pr 28:7
- ^ Pr 21:17
- ^ Pr 6:10, 11
- ^ Pr 1:8; Eph 6:1
- ^ Pr 15:20; 30:17
- ^ Pr 4:7; 18:15; Mt 13:44
- ^ Pr 10:1; 15:20; 29:3
- ^ Pr 27:11
- ^ Pr 3:1; 4:4
- ^ Ps 1:2; 119:24
- ^ Pr 22:14
- ^ Pr 5:20
- ^ Pr 6:26; 7:12; Ec 7:26
- ^ Is 5:11, 22
- ^ 1Sa 25:36; Pr 20:1; Is 5:11; 28:7; Eph 5:18
- ^ Ps 75:8
- ^ Sg 7:9
- ^ Jb 20:16; Pr 20:1; Eph 5:18
- ^ Ps 91:13; Is 11:8
- ^ Pr 2:12
- ^ Pr 27:22; Je 5:3
- ^ Pr 26:11; Is 56:12
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