New King James Version | International Standard Version |
1When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you; | 1Whenever you sit down to dine with a ruler, carefully think about what is before you. |
2And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite. | 2Put a knife to your own throat, if you have a big appetite. |
3Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food. | 3Don't crave his delicacies, because the meal is deceptive. |
4Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! | 4Don't exhaust yourself acquiring wealth; be smart enough to stop. |
5Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like 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. |
6Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies; | 6Don't consume food provided by a miserly person, and don't desire his delicacies, |
7For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. | 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 you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words. | 8You'll vomit up what little you've eaten, and your compliments will have been wasted. |
9Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words. | 9Don't speak when a fool is listening, because he'll despise your wise words. |
10Do not remove the ancient landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless; | 10Don't move ancient boundaries or invade fields belonging to orphans; |
11For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you. | 11for strong is their Redeemer who will take up their case against you. |
12Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge. | 12Learn diligently, and listen to words of knowledge. |
13Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. | 13Don't withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with a rod, he won't die. |
14You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell. | 14Punish him with a rod, and you will rescue his soul from Sheol. |
15My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself; | 15My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will greatly rejoice. |
16Yes, my inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak right things. | 16My innermost being will be glad when your lips speak what is right. |
17Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day; | 17Never let yourself envy sinners; instead, remain in fear of the LORD every day, |
18For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. | 18for there is surely a future life, and what you hope for will not be cut off. |
19Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way. | 19Listen, my son, and be wise, commit yourself to live God's way. |
20Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; | 20Don't associate with heavy drinkers or dine with gluttons, |
21For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. | 21because drunks and gluttons tend to become poor, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags. |
22Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your 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 do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. | 23Purchase truth, but don't sell it; store up wisdom, instruction, and understanding. |
24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. | 24The father of a righteous person will greatly rejoice; whoever fathers a wise son will be glad because of him. |
25Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice. | 25Let your father and mother rejoice; make the one who gave birth to you happy. |
26My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways. | 26Give me your heart, my son, and keep your eyes fixed on my ways, |
27For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well. | 27because a prostitute is a deep pit, and the adulterous woman a narrow well. |
28She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men. | 28Surely she lies in wait like a bandit, increasing those who are faithless among mankind. |
29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? | 29Who has woe? Who has grief? Who has contention? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has bloodshot eyes? |
30Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. | 30Those who linger over their wine, who consume mixed drinks. |
31Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; | 31Don't stare into red wine, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. |
32At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. | 32Eventually it will bite like a snake and sting like a serpent. |
33Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. | 33Your eyes will see strange things, and with slurred words you'll speak what you really believe. |
34Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: | 34You will be like someone who lies down in the sea, or like someone who sleeps on top of a mast. |
35“They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?” | 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." |
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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