231 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider well who is before thee; 2 and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. 3 Be not desirous of his dainties; for they are deceitful food.
4 Weary not thyself to become rich; cease from thine own intelligence: 5 wilt thou set thine eyes upon it, it is gone; for indeed it maketh itself wings and it flieth away as an eagle towards the heavens.
6 Eat thou not the food of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties. 7 For as he thinketh in his soul, so is he. Eat and drink! will he say unto thee; but his heart is not with thee. 8 Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou vomit up, and thou wilt have wasted thy sweet words.
9 Speak not in the ears of a foolish [man], for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: 11 for their redeemer is mighty; he will plead their cause against thee.
12 Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. 13 Withhold not correction from the child; for [if] thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die: 14 thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from Sheol. 15 My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine; 16 and my reins shall exult, when thy lips speak right things.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners, but [be thou] in the fear of Jehovah all the day; 18 for surely there is a result, and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
19 Thou, my son, hear and be wise, and direct thy heart in the way. 20 Be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh. 21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth with rags. 22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. 23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; wisdom, and instruction, and intelligence. 24 The father of a righteous [man] shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise [son] shall have joy of him: 25 let thy father and thy mother have joy, and let her that bore thee rejoice. 26 My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. 27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. 28 She also lieth in wait as a robber, and increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who contentions? Who complaining? Who wounds without cause? Who redness of eyes? 30 —They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to try mixed wine. 31 Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it sparkleth in the cup, and goeth down smoothly: 32 at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall speak froward things; 34 and thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, and as he that lieth down upon the top of a mast: 35 —''They have smitten me, [and] I am not sore; they have beaten me, [and] I knew it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.''
31 My son, forget not my teaching, and let thy heart observe my commandments; 2 for length of days, and years of life, and peace shall they add to thee. 3 Let not loving-kindness and truth forsake thee; bind them about thy neck, write them upon the tablet of thy heart: 4 and thou shalt find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Confide in Jehovah with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own intelligence; 6 in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will make plain thy paths.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear Jehovah, and depart from evil: 8 it shall be health for thy navel, and moisture for thy bones. 9 Honour Jehovah with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase; 10 so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy vats shall overflow with new wine. 11 My son, despise not the instruction of Jehovah, neither be weary of his chastisement; 12 for whom Jehovah loveth he chasteneth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
13 Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14 For the gain thereof is better than the gain of silver, and her revenue than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies; and all the things thou canst desire are not equal unto her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand; in her left hand riches and honour. 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her; and happy is he that retaineth her. 19 Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens. 20 By his knowledge the deeps were broken up, and the skies drop down the dew.
21 My son, let them not depart from thine eyes; keep sound wisdom and discretion: 22 so shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace unto thy neck. 23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way securely, and thy foot shall not stumble; 24 when thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid, but thou shalt lie down and thy sleep shall be sweet. 25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the destruction of the wicked, when it cometh; 26 for Jehovah shall be thy confidence, and he will keep thy foot from being taken.
27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thy hand to do it. 28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give, when thou hast it by thee. 29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. 30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. 31 Envy not the man of violence, and choose none of his ways. 32 For the perverse is an abomination to Jehovah; but his secret is with the upright. 33 The curse of Jehovah is in the house of the wicked; but he blesseth the habitation of the righteous. 34 He indeed scorneth the scorners; but he giveth grace unto the lowly. 35 The wise shall inherit glory; but shame shall be the promotion of the foolish.
