Proverbs

1When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Thou considerest diligently that which [is] before thee,

2And thou hast put a knife to thy throat, If thou [art] a man of appetite.

3Have no desire to his dainties, seeing it [is] lying food.

4Labour not to make wealth, From thine own understanding cease, Dost thou cause thine eyes to fly upon it? Then it is not.

5For wealth maketh to itself wings, As an eagle it flieth to the heavens.

6Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to his dainties,

7For as he hath thought in his soul, so [is] he, 'Eat and drink,' saith he to thee, And his heart [is] not with thee.

8Thy morsel thou hast eaten thou dost vomit up, And hast marred thy words that [are] sweet.

9In the ears of a fool speak not, For he treadeth on the wisdom of thy words.

10Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,

11For their Redeemer [is] strong, He doth plead their cause with thee.

12Bring in to instruction thy heart, And thine ear to sayings of knowledge.

13Withhold not from a youth chastisement, When thou smitest him with a rod he dieth not.

14Thou with a rod smitest him, And his soul from Sheol thou deliverest.

15My son, if thy heart hath been wise, My heart rejoiceth, even mine,

16And my reins exult when thy lips speak uprightly.

17Let not thy heart be envious at sinners, But — in the fear of Jehovah all the day.

18For, is there a posterity? Then thy hope is not cut off.

19Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And make happy in the way thy heart,

20Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones of flesh,

21For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.

22Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old.

23Truth buy, and sell not, Wisdom, and instruction, and understanding,

24The father of the righteous rejoiceth greatly, The begetter of the wise rejoiceth in him.

25Rejoice doth thy father and thy mother, Yea, she that bare thee is joyful.

26Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine eyes watch my ways.

27For a harlot [is] a deep ditch, And a strange woman [is] a strait pit.

28She also, as catching prey, lieth in wait, And the treacherous among men she increaseth.

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

30Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search out mixed wine.

31See not wine when it showeth itself red, When it giveth in the cup its colour, It goeth up and down through the upright.

32Its latter end — as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth.

33Thine eyes see strange women, And thy heart speaketh perverse things.

34And thou hast been as one lying down in the heart of the sea, And as one lying down on the top of a mast.

35'They smote me, I have not been sick, They beat me, I have not known. When I awake — I seek it yet again!'

1When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.

2And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.

3Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.

4Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.

5Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven.

6Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:

7Because like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee.

8The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.

9Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.

10Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:

11For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.

12Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.

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

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

15My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:

16And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.

17Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:

18Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.

19Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.

20Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:

21Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.

22Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.

23Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

24The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.

25Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.

26My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.

27For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

28She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.

29Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?

30Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.

31Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,

32But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.

33Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.

34And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost.

35And thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake, and find wine again?