New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
1While dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you. | 1When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you, |
2If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat; | 2and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite. |
3don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you. | 3Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. |
4Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. | 4Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. |
5In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. | 5When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky. |
6Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies. | 6Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies; |
7They are always thinking about how much it costs. “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it. | 7for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. |
8You will throw up what little you’ve eaten, and your compliments will be wasted. | 8You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words. |
9Don’t waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice. | 9Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. |
10Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers; don’t take the land of defenseless orphans. | 10Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, |
11For their Redeemer is strong; he himself will bring their charges against you. | 11for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you. |
12Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge. | 12Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. |
13Don’t fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won’t kill them. | 13Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die. |
14Physical discipline may well save them from death. | 14Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol. |
15My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice! | 15My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice. |
16Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right. | 16My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. |
17Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the LORD. | 17Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD. |
18You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed. | 18For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. |
19My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course. | 19Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course. |
20Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons, | 20Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat. |
21for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags. | 21For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe 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 do not despise your mother when she is old. |
23Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment. | 23Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding. |
24The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise. | 24The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him. |
25So give your father and mother joy! May she who gave you birth be happy. | 25May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice! |
26O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways. | 26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways. |
27A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well. | 27For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well. |
28She hides and waits like a robber, eager to make more men unfaithful. | 28Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men. |
29Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? | 29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes? |
30It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. | 30Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks. |
31Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. | 31Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. |
32For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper. | 32In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. |
33You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things. | 33Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities. |
34You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. | 34You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast: |
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?” | 35“They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?” |
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