New International Version NIV
Young's Literal Translation YLT
1 When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you,
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When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Thou considerest diligently that which [is] before thee,
2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.
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And thou hast put a knife to thy throat, If thou [art] a man of appetite.
3 Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
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Have no desire to his dainties, seeing it [is] lying food.
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.
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Labour not to make wealth, From thine own understanding cease, Dost thou cause thine eyes to fly upon it? Then it is not
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
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For wealth maketh to itself wings, As an eagle it flieth to the heavens.
6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies;
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Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to his dainties,
7 for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost.“Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
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For as he hath thought in his soul, so [is] he, `Eat and drink,' saith he to thee, And his heart [is] not with thee.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.
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Thy morsel thou hast eaten thou dost vomit up, And hast marred thy words that [are] sweet.
9 Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.
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In the ears of a fool speak not, For he treadeth on the wisdom of thy words.
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
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Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,
11 for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.
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For their Redeemer [is] strong, He doth plead their cause with thee.
12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
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Bring in to instruction thy heart, And thine ear to sayings of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
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Withhold not from a youth chastisement, When thou smitest him with a rod he dieth not.
14 Punish them with the rod and save them from death.
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Thou with a rod smitest him, And his soul from Sheol thou deliverest
15 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed;
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My son, if thy heart hath been wise, My heart rejoiceth, even mine,
16 my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
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And my reins exult when thy lips speak uprightly.
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
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Let not thy heart be envious at sinners, But -- in the fear of Jehovah all the day.
18 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
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For, is there a posterity? Then thy hope is not cut off.
19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path:
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Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And make happy in the way thy heart
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,
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Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones of flesh,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
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For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
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Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old.
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
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Truth buy, and sell not, Wisdom, and instruction, and understanding,
24 The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
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The father of the righteous rejoiceth greatly, The begetter of the wise rejoiceth in him.
25 May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!
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Rejoice doth thy father and thy mother, Yea, she that bare thee is joyful.
26 My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,
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Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine eyes watch my ways.
27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
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For a harlot [is] a deep ditch, And a strange woman [is] a strait pit.
28 Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
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She also, as catching prey, lieth in wait, And the treacherous among men she increaseth.
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
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Who hath wo? who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? who hath plaint? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
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Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search out mixed wine.
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!
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See not wine when it showeth itself red, When it giveth in the cup its colour, It goeth up and down through the upright.
32 In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.
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Its latter end -- as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things.
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Thine eyes see strange women, And thy heart speaketh perverse things.
34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.
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And 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 hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”
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`They smote me, I have not been sick, They beat me, I have not known. When I awake -- I seek it yet again!'
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.