| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you; | 1When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, |
| 2And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite. | 2and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. |
| 3Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food. | 3Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. |
| 4Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! | 4Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. |
| 5Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven. | 5Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. |
| 6Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies; | 6Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; |
| 7For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. | 7for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. "Eat and drink," he says to you, but his heart is not with you. |
| 8The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words. | 8You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments. |
| 9Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words. | 9Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words. |
| 10Do not remove the ancient landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless; | 10Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, |
| 11For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you. | 11for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you. |
| 12Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge. | 12Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. |
| 13Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. | 13Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. |
| 14You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell. | 14Punish them with the rod and save them from death. |
| 15My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself; | 15My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed; |
| 16Yes, my inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak right things. | 16my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. |
| 17Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day; | 17Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. |
| 18For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. | 18There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. |
| 19Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way. | 19Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path: |
| 20Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; | 20Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, |
| 21For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. | 21for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags. |
| 22Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old. | 22Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. |
| 23Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. | 23Buy the truth and do not sell it-- wisdom, instruction and insight as well. |
| 24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. | 24The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. |
| 25Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice. | 25May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful! |
| 26My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways. | 26My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways, |
| 27For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well. | 27for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well. |
| 28She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men. | 28Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men. |
| 29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? | 29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? |
| 30Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. | 30Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. |
| 31Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; | 31Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! |
| 32At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. | 32In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. |
| 33Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. | 33Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. |
| 34Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: | 34You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. |
| 35“They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?” | 35"They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?" |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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