Proverbs 23
1When thou sittest to dine with a moshel (ruler), 1 consider diligently what is before thee, 1
2And put a sakin (knife) to thy throat, 1 if thou be a ba'al nefesh (man given to gluttony). 1
3Be not desirous of his delicacies, 1 for they are lechem kezavim (deceitful food). 1
4Overwork not to get rich; 1 cease from thine own binah (understanding). 1
5Wilt thou let thine eynayim fly after that which is not? 1 For such [wealth] certainly sprouts kenafayim (wings); 1 they fly away as a nesher (eagle) toward Shomayim. 1
6Eat thou not the lechem of him that hath a rah ayin (evil eye), + 23:6 i.e., a miser 1 neither desire thou his delicacies; 1
7For as he reckoneth in his nefesh, so is he. 1 Eat and drink! saith he to thee, 1 but his lev is not with thee. 1
8The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, 1 and lose thy pleasant devarim. 1
9Speak not in the oznayim of a kesil (fool), 1 for he will despise the seichel of thy words. 1
10Remove not the gevul olam (ancient landmark); 1 and enter not into the sadot of the yetomim (fatherless ones, orphans), 1
11For their Go'el is chazak (strong); 1 He shall plead their cause against thee. 1
12Apply thine lev unto musar, 1 and thine oznayim to the words of da'as. 1
13Withhold not musar (correction) from the na'ar (child), 1 for if thou spank him with the shevet, he shall not die. 1
14Thou shalt spank him with the shevet, 1 and shalt save his nefesh from Sheol. 1
15Beni (my son), if thine lev be chacham, 1 my own lev shall have simchah. 1
16Indeed, my inmost being shall rejoice, 1 when thy sfatayim (lips) speak meisharim (upright things). 1
17Let not thine lev envy chatta'im, 1 but be thou in the Yirat Hashem kol hayom. 1
18For surely there is an acharit (latter end, future), 1 and thine tikvah shall not be cut off. 1
19Hear thou, beni (my son), and be chacham, 1 and guide thine lev straight on the derech. 1
20Be not among yayin gluttons; 1 among gluttonous eaters of basar, 1
21For the drunkard and the zolel (glutton) shall come to poverty, 1 and drowsiness shall clothe with rags. 1
22Pay heed unto avicha that fathered thee, 1 and despise not immecha when she is old. 1
23Buy emes, and sell it not; 1 also chochmah, and musar, and binah (understanding). 1
24Avi tzaddik (the father of a righteous one) shall greatly rejoice, 1 and he that fathereth a chacham shall have simchah in him. 1
25Avicha and immecha shall be glad, 1 and she that bore thee shall rejoice. 1
26Beni (my son), give me thine lev, 1 and let thine eynayim delight in my drakhim. 1
27For a zonah is a deep pit, 1 and a nokhriyah (strange woman, foreign woman, seductress, unfaithful wife) is a narrow well. 1
28She also lieth in wait like a road bandit, 1 and increaseth the bogedim (unfaithful) among adam (mankind). 1
29Who hath oy (woe)? Who hath sorrow? 1 Who hath strifes? Who hath complaint? 1 Who hath needless wounds? 1 Who hath bloodshot eynayim? 1
30They that tarry long at the yayin, 1 they that turn in to sample mixed wine. 1
31Stare not thou into the yayin when it is red, 1 when it sparkles in the kos (cup), 1 when it goeth down smoothly. 1
32At the acharit (latter end, future) it biteth like a nachash, 1 and stingeth with venomous poisons like a viper. 1
33Thine eynayim shall behold zarot (strange women), 1 and thine lev shall utter perverse things. 1
34Indeed, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the lev yam (heart of the sea), 1 or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. 1
35They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt; 1 they have beaten me, and I felt it not. 1 Mosai (when) shall I awake? 1 I will seek yet another drink.