The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
New King James Version NKJV
1 When you sit down to dine with a ruler, think carefully about who is before you.
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When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you;
2 If you have a big appetite, put a knife to your throat!
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And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite.
3 Don't be greedy for his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.
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Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food.
4 Don't exhaust yourself in pursuit of wealth; be smart enough to desist
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Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease
5 If you make your eyes rush at it, it's no longer there! For wealth will surely grow wings, like an eagle flying off to the sky.
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Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
6 Don't eat the food of a stingy man; don't be greedy for his delicacies.
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Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies;
7 For he is like someone who keeps accounts -"Eat! Drink!" he says to you, but he doesn't really mean it.
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For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, But his heart is not with you.
8 The little you eat you will vomit up, and your compliments will have been wasted.
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The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words.
9 Don't speak in the ears of a fool, for he will only despise the common sense in your words.
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Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Don't move the ancient boundary stone or encroach on the land of the fatherless;
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Do not remove the ancient landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;
11 for their Redeemer is strong; he will take up their fight against you.
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For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you.
12 Apply your mind to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge.
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Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Don't withhold discipline from a child -if you beat him with a stick, he won't die!
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Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
14 If you beat him with a stick, you will save him from Sh'ol
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You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell.
15 My son, if your heart is wise, then my own heart too is glad;
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My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice--indeed, I myself;
16 my inmost being rejoices when your lips say what is right.
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Yes, my inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak right things.
17 Don't envy sinners, but follow the example of those who always fear God;
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Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day;
18 for then you will have a future; what you hope for will not be cut off.
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For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off.
19 You, my son: listen, be wise, and set your mind on the right way
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Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way
20 Don't be one of those who guzzle wine or of those who eat meat to excess,
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Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 for both drunkard and glutton will become poor -drowsiness will clothe them with rags
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For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life; and don't despise your mother when she gets old.
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Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, don't sell it, also wisdom, discipline and discernment.
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Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 A righteous person's father will be filled with joy; yes, he whose son is wise will rejoice in him.
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The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
25 So let your father and mother be glad; let her who gave you birth rejoice.
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Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice.
26 My son, give me your heart; let your eyes observe my ways.
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My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways.
27 A prostitute is a deep ditch, and a forbidden woman like a narrow well.
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For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well.
28 She lies in wait to snatch her prey and adds to the number of faithless men.
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She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men.
29 Who has misery? Who has regret? Who fights and complains all the time? Who gets bruised for no good reason? Who has bloodshot eyes?
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Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
30 Those who spend their time over wine, those always trying out mixed drinks.
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Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine.
31 Don't gaze at the red wine as it gives its color to the cup. It may glide down smoothly now;
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Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly;
32 but in the end, it bites like a serpent -yes, it strikes like a poisonous snake.
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At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see peculiar things, your mind will utter nonsense.
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Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things.
34 You will feel as if lying on the waves of the sea or sprawled on top of the mast -
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Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
35 "They hit me, but I didn't feel it! They beat me up, and I didn't even know it! When will I wake up? . . . I'll go get another drink."
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"They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?"