| English Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, | 1When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, |
| 2and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. | 2and put a knife to your throat if you have a big appetite; |
| 3Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. | 3don't desire his choice food, for that food is deceptive. |
| 4Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. | 4Don't wear yourself out to get rich; stop giving your attention to it. |
| 5When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. | 5As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky. |
| 6Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, | 6Don't eat a stingy person's bread, and don't desire his choice food, |
| 7for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. | 7for it's like someone calculating inwardly." Eat and drink," he says to you, but his heart is not with you. |
| 8You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words. | 8You will vomit the little you've eaten and waste your pleasant words. |
| 9Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words. | 9Don't speak to a fool, for he will despise the insight of your words. |
| 10Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, | 10Don't move an ancient boundary marker, and don't encroach on the fields of the fatherless, |
| 11for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you. | 11for their Redeemer is strong, and He will take up their case against you. |
| 12Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. | 12Apply yourself to discipline and listen to words of knowledge. |
| 13Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. | 13Don't withhold discipline from a youth; if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. |
| 14If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. | 14Strike him with a rod, and you will rescue his life from Sheol. |
| 15My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad. | 15My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will indeed rejoice. |
| 16My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right. | 16My innermost being will cheer when your lips say what is right. |
| 17Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. | 17Don't let your heart envy sinners; instead, always fear the LORD. |
| 18Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. | 18For then you will have a future, and your hope will never fade. |
| 19Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. | 19Listen, my son, and be wise; keep your mind on the right course. |
| 20Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, | 20Don't associate with those who drink too much wine or with those who gorge themselves on meat. |
| 21for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. | 21For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor, and grogginess will clothe 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. |
| 23Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. | 23Buy--and do not sell--truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding. |
| 24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. | 24The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly, and one who fathers a wise son will delight in him. |
| 25Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice. | 25Let your father and mother have joy, and let her who gave birth to you rejoice. |
| 26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. | 26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. |
| 27For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well. | 27For a prostitute is a deep pit, and a stranger is a narrow well; |
| 28She lies in wait like a robber and increases the traitors among mankind. | 28indeed, she sets an ambush like a robber and increases those among men who are unfaithful. |
| 29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? | 29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has conflicts? Who has complaints? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has red eyes? |
| 30Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. | 30Those who linger over wine, those who go looking for mixed wine. |
| 31Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. | 31Don't gaze at wine because it is red, when it gleams in the cup and goes down smoothly. |
| 32In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. | 32In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. |
| 33Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. | 33Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say absurd things. |
| 34You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. | 34You'll be like someone sleeping out at sea or lying down on the top of a ship's mast." |
| 35“They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink.” | 35They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I didn't know it! When will I wake up? I'll look for another drink." |
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