| King James Bible | NET Bible |
| 1When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: | 1When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, |
| 2And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. | 2and put a knife to your throat if you possess a large appetite. |
| 3Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat. | 3Do not crave that ruler's delicacies, for that food is deceptive. |
| 4Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. | 4Do not wear yourself out to become rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. |
| 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 gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves, and fly off into the sky like an eagle! |
| 6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: | 6Do not eat the food of a stingy person, do not crave 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 he is like someone calculating the cost in his mind. "Eat and drink," he says to you, but his heart is not with you; |
| 8The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. | 8you will vomit up the little bit you have eaten, and will have wasted your pleasant words. |
| 9Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. | 9Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. |
| 10Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: | 10Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or take over the fields of the fatherless, |
| 11For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee. | 11for their Protector is strong; he will plead their case against you. |
| 12Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. | 12Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to the words of knowledge. |
| 13Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. | 13Do not withhold discipline from a child; even if you strike him with the rod, he will not die. |
| 14Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. | 14If you strike him with the rod, you will deliver him from death. |
| 15My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. | 15My child, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad; |
| 16Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. | 16my soul will rejoice 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. | 17Do not let your heart envy sinners, but rather be zealous in fearing the LORD all the time. |
| 18For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off. | 18For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. |
| 19Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. | 19Listen, my child, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right way. |
| 20Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: | 20Do not spend time among drunkards, among those who eat too much meat, |
| 21For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. | 21because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished, and drowsiness clothes them with rags. |
| 22Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. | 22Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old. |
| 23Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. | 23Acquire truth and do not sell it--wisdom, and discipline, 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 rejoice greatly; whoever fathers a wise child will have joy in him. |
| 25Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice. | 25May your father and your mother have joy; may she who bore you rejoice. |
| 26My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. | 26Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes observe my ways; |
| 27For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. | 27for a prostitute is like a deep pit; a harlot is like a narrow well. |
| 28She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men. | 28Indeed, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men. |
| 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 sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness of the eyes? |
| 30They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. | 30Those who linger over wine, those who go looking for mixed wine. |
| 31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. | 31Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly. |
| 32At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. | 32Afterward it bites like a snake, and stings like a viper. |
| 33Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. | 33Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will speak perverse things. |
| 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. | 34And you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging. |
| 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. | 35You will say, "They have struck me, but I am not harmed! They beat me, but I did not know it! When will I awake? I will look for another drink." |
|
