Proverbs 23

₁When you sit down to eat

with an important_official,

remember who it is with you.

₂If you are hungry, don't eat a lot.

₃You want to eat his good food,

but don't eat too much,

because his food will seduce you.

₄Don't become a slave to money.

Be wise and say no

to your desire to become rich.

₅All your money can disappear very quickly.

It will seem as if it has wings

and flies away like an eagle.

₆Don't eat the food of selfish people,

and don't desire their food.

₇They are always worried

about how much you eat.

They tell you to eat and drink,

but they don't really want you to do it.

₈You will become sick even if

you have eaten only a little bit of their food,

and you will be ashamed and

your friendly words will not help at all.

₉Don't try and teach a fool.

He will laugh at your words

and things that you teach him.

₁₀Don't change the borders

that have been there for a long time.

Don't take a field for yourself

that belongs to an orphan,

₁₁because his Protector is the Lord.

He is strong and He will help him

and fight against you.

₁₂You must understand

what I want to teach you,

and you must listen to what I tell you.

₁₃Don't be afraid to punish your child.

If you teach him in the right way,

he will grow up and live.

₁₄If you punish him,

you are saving him from death.

₁₅My child, I will be very happy

if you are wise.

₁₆I will be pleased if you

say things that are right.

₁₇Don't be jealous of the things

that sinners have,

but keep on respecting and serving the Lord,

₁₈because then you will have hope

for the future and you will have life.

₁₉My child, you must listen

so that you can become wise

and know how to live in the right way.

₂₀Don't go with people who drink

too much wine and eat too much food,

₂₁because people who get drunk

and people who eat too much

will become poor,

and their clothes will be torn.

₂₂Obey your parents who gave you life,

even when they are old.

₂₃Look everywhere to find truth,

even if you have to pay for it,

and never let go of it.

Get wisdom, teaching and understanding.

₂₄A father is very happy

if his child lives in the right way,

and he is pleased if his child has wisdom.

₂₅I hope that your parents

will be pleased and happy with you.

₂₆My child, you must understand

what I tell you.

Look at my life and follow my ways.

₂₇If you go to a prostitute,

it is like falling into a deep hole.

If you have sex with another woman,

it is like a trap of death.

₂₈She is waiting for you like a thief,

and she makes a lot of men

unfaithful to their wives.

₂₉There are people who complain and moan,

and they fight and argue.

They are hurt but they don't know

about it and their eyes are red.

₃₀Who are they?

Those are the people who sit and

drink too much wine until late at night,

people who keep on tasting wine.

₃₁Don't keep on looking at the wine

if it is red or if it shines in the cup.

Be careful if it goes down your throat

easily when you drink it.

₃₂After you have drunk the wine,

it bites like a snake

and spits poison like a cobra.

₃₃Then you see things

that you have never seen before

and your mind becomes confused.

₃₄It feels as if you are lying down

very deep in the sea or

on top of the mast of a sailing boat.

₃₅You will think: ‘They hit me,

but I was not hurt.

They beat me, but I did not feel it.’

You will think: ‘When will I wake up?

I want to find some more wine to drink.’