Proverbs 23
NASB
Prov 23:1
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When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you,
Prov 23:2
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And put a knife to your throat If you are a man of {great} appetite.
Prov 23:3
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Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food.
Prov 23:4
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Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration {of it.}
Prov 23:5
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When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For {wealth} certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies {toward} the heavens.
Prov 23:6
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Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;
Prov 23:7
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For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, "Eat and drink!" But his heart is not with you.
Prov 23:8
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You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten, And waste your compliments.
Prov 23:9
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Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
Prov 23:10
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Do not move the ancient boundary Or go into the fields of the fatherless,
Prov 23:11
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For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.
Prov 23:12
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Apply your heart to discipline And your ears to words of knowledge.
Prov 23:13
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Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
Prov 23:14
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You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol.
Prov 23:15
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My son, if your heart is wise, My own heart also will be glad;
Prov 23:16
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And my inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak what is right.
Prov 23:17
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Do not let your heart envy sinners, But {live} in the fear of the LORD always.
Prov 23:18
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Surely there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off.
Prov 23:19
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Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way.
Prov 23:20
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Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, {Or} with gluttonous eaters of meat;
Prov 23:21
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For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe {one} with rags.
Prov 23:22
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Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.
Prov 23:23
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Buy truth, and do not sell {it,} {Get} wisdom and instruction and understanding.
Prov 23:24
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The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who sires a wise son will be glad in him.
Prov 23:25
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Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.
Prov 23:26
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Give me your heart, my son, And let your eyes delight in my ways.
Prov 23:27
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For a harlot is a deep pit And an adulterous woman is a narrow well.
Prov 23:28
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Surely she lurks as a robber, And increases the faithless among men.
Prov 23:29
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Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
Prov 23:30
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Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine.
Prov 23:31
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Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly;
Prov 23:32
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At the last it bites like a serpent And stings like a viper.
Prov 23:33
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Your eyes will see strange things And your mind will utter perverse things.
Prov 23:34
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And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea, Or like one who lies down on the top of a (Or {lookout}) mast.
Prov 23:35
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"They struck me, {but} I did not become ill; They beat me, {but} I did not know {it.} When shall I awake? I will seek another drink."
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California. All rights reserved.