Proverbs 23 Parallel Bible Translations

Proverbs 23 ▼
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1 When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face. When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you,
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power. and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.
3 Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit. Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4 Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence. Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
6 Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats: Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies;
7 Because like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee. for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. for 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.
8 The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words. You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words. You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.
9 Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech. Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words. Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.
10 Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless: Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee. for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you. for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.
12 Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge. Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die. Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. Punish them with the rod and save them from death.
15 My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee: My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad. My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed;
16 And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right. My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right. my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long: Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
18 Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way. Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path:
20 Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat: Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,
21 Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags. for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
22 Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old. Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
24 The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
25 Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee. Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice. May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!
26 My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways. My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit. For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well. for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill. She lies in wait like a robber and increases the traitors among mankind. Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
29 Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups. Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31 Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly, Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!
32 But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.
33 Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost. You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.
35 And thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake, and find wine again? “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink.” “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?”
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