| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you, | 1While dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you. |
| 2and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite. | 2If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat; |
| 3Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. | 3don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you. |
| 4Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. | 4Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. |
| 5When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky. | 5In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. |
| 6Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies; | 6Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies. |
| 7for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. | 7They are always thinking about how much it costs. “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it. |
| 8You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words. | 8You will throw up what little you’ve eaten, and your compliments will be wasted. |
| 9Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. | 9Don’t waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice. |
| 10Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, | 10Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers; don’t take the land of defenseless orphans. |
| 11for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you. | 11For their Redeemer is strong; he himself will bring their charges against you. |
| 12Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. | 12Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge. |
| 13Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die. | 13Don’t fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won’t kill them. |
| 14Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol. | 14Physical discipline may well save them from death. |
| 15My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice. | 15My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice! |
| 16My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. | 16Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right. |
| 17Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD. | 17Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the LORD. |
| 18For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. | 18You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed. |
| 19Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course. | 19My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course. |
| 20Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat. | 20Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons, |
| 21For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags. | 21for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags. |
| 22Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. | 22Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old. |
| 23Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding. | 23Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment. |
| 24The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him. | 24The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise. |
| 25May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice! | 25So give your father and mother joy! May she who gave you birth be happy. |
| 26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways. | 26O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways. |
| 27For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well. | 27A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well. |
| 28Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men. | 28She hides and waits like a robber, eager to make more men unfaithful. |
| 29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes? | 29Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? |
| 30Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks. | 30It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. |
| 31Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. | 31Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. |
| 32In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. | 32For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper. |
| 33Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities. | 33You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things. |
| 34You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast: | 34You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. |
| 35“They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?” | 35And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?” |
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