King James Version KJV
Good News Translation GNT
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
1
When you sit down to eat with someone important, keep in mind who he is.
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
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If you have a big appetite, restrain yourself.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.
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Don't be greedy for the fine food he serves; he may be trying to trick you.
4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
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Be wise enough not to wear yourself out trying to get rich
5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward 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 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
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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 he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
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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 morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
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You will vomit up what you have eaten, and all your flattery will be wasted.
9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
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Don't try to talk sense to a fool; he can't appreciate it.
10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
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Never move an old property line or take over land owned by orphans.
11 For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.
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The Lord is their powerful defender, and he will argue their case against you.
12 Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
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Pay attention to your teacher and learn all you can.
13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
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Don't hesitate to discipline children. A good spanking won't kill them.
14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
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As a matter of fact, it may save their lives
15 My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
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My child, if you become wise, I will be very happy.
16 Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
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I will be proud when I hear you speaking words of wisdom.
17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
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Don't be envious of sinful people; let reverence for the Lord be the concern of your life.
18 For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
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If it is, you have a bright future.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
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Listen, my child, be wise and give serious thought to the way you live
20 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
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Don't associate with people who drink too much wine or stuff themselves with food.
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
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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 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy 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 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
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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 righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy 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 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
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Let your father and mother be proud of you; give your mother that happiness.
26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
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Pay close attention, son, and let my life be your example.
27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
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Prostitutes and immoral women are a deadly trap.
28 She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
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They wait for you like robbers and cause many men to be unfaithful.
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
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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 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
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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 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
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The next morning you will feel as if you had been bitten by a poisonous snake.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
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Weird sights will appear before your eyes, and you will not be able to think or speak clearly.
34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
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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 stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet 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 King James Version is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.