King James Bible

International Standard Version

1When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:

1Whenever you sit down to dine with a ruler, carefully think about what is before you.

2And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.

2Put a knife to your own throat, if you have a big appetite.

3Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.

3Don't crave his delicacies, because the meal is deceptive.

4Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.

4Don't exhaust yourself acquiring wealth; be smart enough to stop.

5Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

5When you fix your gaze on it, it's gone, for it sprouts wings for itself and flies to the sky like an eagle.

6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:

6Don't consume food provided by a miserly person, and don't desire his delicacies,

7For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

7for as he thinks within himself, so he is. "Eat and drink!" he'll say to you, but his heart won't be with you.

8The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.

8You'll vomit up what little you've eaten, and your compliments will have been wasted.

9Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

9Don't speak when a fool is listening, because he'll despise your wise words.

10Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

10Don't move ancient boundaries or invade fields belonging to orphans;

11For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.

11for strong is their Redeemer who will take up their case against you.

12Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.

12Learn diligently, and listen to words of knowledge.

13Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

13Don't withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with a rod, he won't die.

14Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

14Punish him with a rod, and you will rescue his soul from Sheol.

15My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.

15My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will greatly rejoice.

16Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.

16My innermost being will be glad when your lips speak what is right.

17Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.

17Never let yourself envy sinners; instead, remain in fear of the LORD every day,

18For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.

18for there is surely a future life, and what you hope for will not be cut off.

19Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.

19Listen, my son, and be wise, commit yourself to live God's way.

20Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:

20Don't associate with heavy drinkers or dine with gluttons,

21For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

21because drunks and gluttons tend to become poor, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.

22Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

22Listen to the one who fathered you, and don't despise your mother in her old age.

23Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

23Purchase truth, but don't sell it; store up wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

24The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.

24The father of a righteous person will greatly rejoice; whoever fathers a wise son will be glad because of him.

25Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.

25Let your father and mother rejoice; make the one who gave birth to you happy.

26My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

26Give me your heart, my son, and keep your eyes fixed on my ways,

27For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

27because a prostitute is a deep pit, and the adulterous woman a narrow well.

28She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.

28Surely she lies in wait like a bandit, increasing those who are faithless among mankind.

29Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?

29Who has woe? Who has grief? Who has contention? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has bloodshot eyes?

30They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.

30Those who linger over their wine, who consume mixed drinks.

31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

31Don't stare into red wine, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.

32At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.

32Eventually it will bite like a snake and sting like a serpent.

33Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.

33Your eyes will see strange things, and with slurred words you'll speak what you really believe.

34Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.

34You will be like someone who lies down in the sea, or like someone who sleeps on top of a mast.

35They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

35"They struck me," you will say, "but I never felt it. They beat me, but I never knew it When will I wake up? I want another drink."

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.

The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.