Proverbs 23:1-14 ▼

1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you,

2 and put a knife to your throat if you have a big appetite.

3 Do not desire the ruler’s delicacies, for they are deceptive food.

4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to desist.

5 When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle toward heaven.

6 Do not eat the bread of the stingy; do not desire their delicacies;

7 for like a hair in the throat, so are they. “Eat and drink!” they say to you; but they do not mean it.

8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten, and you will waste your pleasant words.

9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, who will only despise the wisdom of your words.

10 Do not remove an ancient landmark or encroach on the fields of orphans,

11 for their redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you.

12 Apply your mind to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.

13 Do not withhold discipline from your children; if you beat them with a rod, they will not die.

14 If you beat them with the rod, you will save their lives from Sheol.