Proverbs 23

Contemporary English Version

–6–

23 When you are invited
to eat with a king,
    use your best manners.
²Don't go and stuff yourself!
That would be just the same
    as cutting your throat.
³Don't be greedy for all
of that fancy food!
    It may not be so tasty.

–7–

⁴Give up trying so hard
    to get rich.
⁵Your money flies away
    before you know it,
just like an eagle
    suddenly taking off.

–8–

⁶Don't accept an invitation
to eat a selfish person's food,
    no matter how good it is.
⁷People like that take note
    of how much you eat.^[a]
They say, “Take all you want!”
    But they don't mean it.
⁸Each bite will come back up,
and all your kind words
    will be wasted.

–9–

⁹Don't talk to fools—
they will make fun of you.

–10–

¹⁰Don't move a boundary marker^[b]
or take the land
that belongs to orphans.
¹¹God All-Powerful is there
to defend them against you.

–11–

¹²Listen to instruction
and do your best to learn.

–12–

¹³Don't fail to correct
    your children.
You won't kill them
    by being firm,
¹⁴and it may even
    save their lives.

–13–

¹⁵My children,
if you show good sense,
I will be happy,
¹⁶and if you are truthful,
I will really be glad.

–14–

¹⁷Don't be jealous of sinners,
but always honor the Lord.
¹⁸Then you will truly have hope
for the future.

–15–

¹⁹Listen to me, my children!
Be wise and have enough sense
    to follow the right path.
²⁰Don't be a heavy drinker
    or stuff yourself with food.
²¹It will make you feel drowsy,
and you will end up poor
    with only rags to wear.

–16–

²²Pay attention to your father,
and don't neglect your mother
    when she grows old.
²³Invest in truth and wisdom,
discipline and good sense,
    and don't part with them.
²⁴Make your father truly happy
by living right and showing
    sound judgment.
²⁵Make your parents proud,
    especially your mother.

–17–

²⁶My son, pay close attention,
and gladly follow
    my example.
²⁷Bad women and unfaithful wives
    are like a deep pit—
²⁸they are waiting to attack you
like a gang of robbers
    with victim after victim.

–18–

²⁹Who is always in trouble?
    Who argues and fights?
Who has cuts and bruises?
    Whose eyes are red?
³⁰Everyone who stays up late,
    having just one more drink.
³¹Don't even look
at that colorful stuff
    bubbling up in the glass!
It goes down so easily,
³²but later it bites
    like a poisonous snake.
³³You will see weird things,
and your mind
    will play tricks on you.
³⁴You will feel tossed about
like someone trying to sleep
    on a ship in a storm.
³⁵You will be bruised all over,
without even remembering
    how it all happened.
And you will lie awake asking,
“When will morning come,
    so I can drink some more?”