Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
1When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, | 1While dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you. |
2and put a knife to your throat if you have a big appetite; | 2If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat; |
3don't desire his choice food, for that food is deceptive. | 3don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you. |
4Don't wear yourself out to get rich; because you know better, stop! | 4Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. |
5As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky. | 5In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. |
6Don't eat a stingy person's bread, and don't desire his choice food, | 6Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies. |
7for it's like someone calculating inwardly. "Eat and drink," he says to you, but his heart is not with you. | 7They are always thinking about how much it costs. “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it. |
8You will vomit the little you've eaten and waste your pleasant words. | 8You will throw up what little you’ve eaten, and your compliments will be wasted. |
9Don't speak to a fool, for he will despise the insight of your words. | 9Don’t waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice. |
10Don't move an ancient boundary marker, and don't encroach on the fields of the fatherless, | 10Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers; don’t take the land of defenseless orphans. |
11for their Redeemer is strong, and he will champion their cause against you. | 11For their Redeemer is strong; he himself will bring their charges against you. |
12Apply yourself to discipline and listen to words of knowledge. | 12Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge. |
13Don't withhold discipline from a youth; if you punish him with a rod, he will not die. | 13Don’t fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won’t kill them. |
14Punish him with a rod, and you will rescue his life from Sheol. | 14Physical discipline may well save them from death. |
15My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will indeed rejoice. | 15My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice! |
16My innermost being will celebrate when your lips say what is right. | 16Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right. |
17Don't let your heart envy sinners; instead, always fear the LORD. | 17Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the LORD. |
18For then you will have a future, and your hope will not be dashed. | 18You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed. |
19Listen, my son, and be wise; keep your mind on the right course. | 19My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course. |
20Don't associate with those who drink too much wine or with those who gorge themselves on meat. | 20Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons, |
21For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor, and grogginess will clothe them in rags. | 21for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags. |
22Listen to your father who gave you life, and don't despise your mother when she is old. | 22Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old. |
23Buy--and do not sell--truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding. | 23Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment. |
24The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly, and one who fathers a wise son will delight in him. | 24The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise. |
25Let your father and mother have joy, and let her who gave birth to you rejoice. | 25So give your father and mother joy! May she who gave you birth be happy. |
26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. | 26O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways. |
27For a prostitute is a deep pit, and a wayward woman is a narrow well; | 27A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well. |
28indeed, she sets an ambush like a robber and increases the number of unfaithful people. | 28She hides and waits like a robber, eager to make more men unfaithful. |
29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has conflicts? Who has complaints? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has red eyes? | 29Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? |
30Those who linger over wine; those who go looking for mixed wine. | 30It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. |
31Don't gaze at wine because it is red, because it gleams in the cup and goes down smoothly. | 31Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. |
32In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. | 32For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper. |
33Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say absurd things. | 33You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things. |
34You'll be like someone sleeping out at sea or lying down on the top of a ship's mast. | 34You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. |
35"They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I didn't know it! When will I wake up? I'll look for another drink." | 35And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?” |
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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