The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 When you take your seat at the feast with a ruler, give thought with care to what is before you;
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When you sit down to eat with someone important, keep in mind who he is.
2 And put a knife to your throat, if you have a strong desire for food.
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If you have a big appetite, restrain yourself.
3 Have no desire for his delicate food, for it is the bread of deceit.
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Don't be greedy for the fine food he serves; he may be trying to trick you.
4 Take no care to get wealth; let there be an end to your desire for money
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Be wise enough not to wear yourself out trying to get rich
5 Are your eyes lifted up to it? it is gone: for wealth takes to itself wings, like an eagle in flight up to heaven.
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Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle.
6 Do not take the food of him who has an evil eye, or have any desire for his delicate meat:
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Don't eat at the table of a stingy person or be greedy for the fine food he serves.
7 For as the thoughts of his heart are, so is he: Take food and drink, he says to you; but his heart is not with you.
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"Come on and have some more," he says, but he doesn't mean it. What he thinks is what he really is.
8 The food which you have taken will come up again, and your pleasing words will be wasted.
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You will vomit up what you have eaten, and all your flattery will be wasted.
9 Say nothing in the hearing of a foolish man, for he will put no value on the wisdom of your words.
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Don't try to talk sense to a fool; he can't appreciate it.
10 Do not let the landmark of the widow be moved, and do not go into the fields of those who have no father;
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Never move an old property line or take over land owned by orphans.
11 For their saviour is strong, and he will take up their cause against you.
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The Lord is their powerful defender, and he will argue their case against you.
12 Give your heart to teaching, and your ears to the words of knowledge.
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Pay attention to your teacher and learn all you can.
13 Do not keep back training from the child: for even if you give him blows with the rod, it will not be death to him.
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Don't hesitate to discipline children. A good spanking won't kill them.
14 Give him blows with the rod, and keep his soul safe from the underworld
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As a matter of fact, it may save their lives
15 My son, if your heart becomes wise, I, even I, will be glad in heart;
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My child, if you become wise, I will be very happy.
16 And my thoughts in me will be full of joy when your lips say right things.
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I will be proud when I hear you speaking words of wisdom.
17 Have no envy of sinners in your heart, but keep in the fear of the Lord all through the day;
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Don't be envious of sinful people; let reverence for the Lord be the concern of your life.
18 For without doubt there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
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If it is, you have a bright future.
19 Give ear, my son, and be wise, guiding your heart in the right way
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Listen, my child, be wise and give serious thought to the way you live
20 Do not be among those who give themselves to wine-drinking, or among those who make themselves full with meat:
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Don't associate with people who drink too much wine or stuff themselves with food.
21 For those who take delight in drink and feasting will come to be in need; and through love of sleep a man will be poorly clothed
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Drunkards and gluttons will be reduced to poverty. If all you do is eat and sleep, you will soon be wearing rags
22 Give ear to your father whose child you are, and do not keep honour from your mother when she is old.
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Listen to your father; without him you would not exist. When your mother is old, show her your appreciation.
23 Get for yourself that which is true, and do not let it go for money; get wisdom and teaching and good sense.
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Truth, wisdom, learning, and good sense - these are worth paying for, but too valuable for you to sell.
24 The father of the upright man will be glad, and he who has a wise child will have joy because of him.
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A righteous person's parents have good reason to be happy. You can take pride in a wise child.
25 Let your father and your mother be glad, let her who gave you birth have joy.
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Let your father and mother be proud of you; give your mother that happiness.
26 My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes take delight in my ways.
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Pay close attention, son, and let my life be your example.
27 For a loose woman is a deep hollow, and a strange woman is a narrow water-hole.
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Prostitutes and immoral women are a deadly trap.
28 Yes, she is waiting secretly like a beast for its food, and deceit by her is increased among men.
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They wait for you like robbers and cause many men to be unfaithful.
29 Who says, Oh! who says, Ah! who has violent arguments, who has grief, who has wounds without cause, whose eyes are dark?
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Show me people who drink too much, who have to try out fancy drinks, and I will show you people who are miserable and sorry for themselves, always causing trouble and always complaining. Their eyes are bloodshot, and they have bruises that could have been avoided.
30 Those who are seated late over the wine: those who go looking for mixed wine.
31 Keep your eyes from looking on the wine when it is red, when its colour is bright in the cup, when it goes smoothly down:
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Don't let wine tempt you, even though it is rich red, and it sparkles in the cup, and it goes down smoothly.
32 In the end, its bite is like that of a snake, its wound like the wound of a poison-snake.
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The next morning you will feel as if you had been bitten by a poisonous snake.
33 Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say twisted things.
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Weird sights will appear before your eyes, and you will not be able to think or speak clearly.
34 Yes, you will be like him who takes his rest on the sea, or on the top of a sail-support.
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You will feel as if you were out on the ocean, seasick, swinging high up in the rigging of a tossing ship.
35 They have overcome me, you will say, and I have no pain; they gave me blows without my feeling them: when will I be awake from my wine? I will go after it again.
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"I must have been hit," you will say; "I must have been beaten up, but I don't remember it. Why can't I wake up? I need another drink."
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.