| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, | 1When you sit down to eat 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 possess a large appetite. |
| 3Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. | 3Do not crave that ruler's delicacies, for that food is deceptive. |
| 4Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. | 4Do not wear yourself out to become rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. |
| 5When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. | 5When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves, and fly off into the sky like an eagle! |
| 6Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, | 6Do not eat the food of a stingy person, do not crave his delicacies; |
| 7for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. | 7for he is like someone calculating the cost in his mind. "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 up the little bit you have eaten, and will have wasted your pleasant words. |
| 9Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words. | 9Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. |
| 10Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, | 10Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or take over the fields of the fatherless, |
| 11for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you. | 11for their Protector is strong; he will plead their case against you. |
| 12Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. | 12Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to the words of knowledge. |
| 13Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. | 13Do not withhold discipline from a child; even if you strike him with the rod, he will not die. |
| 14If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. | 14If you strike him with the rod, you will deliver him from death. |
| 15My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad. | 15My child, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad; |
| 16My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right. | 16my soul will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. |
| 17Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. | 17Do not let your heart envy sinners, but rather be zealous in fearing the LORD all the time. |
| 18Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. | 18For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. |
| 19Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. | 19Listen, my child, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right way. |
| 20Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, | 20Do not spend time among drunkards, among those who eat too much meat, |
| 21for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. | 21because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished, and drowsiness clothes them with rags. |
| 22Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. | 22Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old. |
| 23Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. | 23Acquire truth and do not sell it--wisdom, and discipline, 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 person will rejoice greatly; whoever fathers a wise child will have joy in him. |
| 25Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice. | 25May your father and your mother have joy; may she who bore you rejoice. |
| 26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. | 26Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes observe my ways; |
| 27For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well. | 27for a prostitute is like a deep pit; a harlot is like a narrow well. |
| 28She lies in wait like a robber and increases the traitors among mankind. | 28Indeed, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men. |
| 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 contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness of the 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. | 31Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly. |
| 32In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. | 32Afterward 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 your mind will speak perverse 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. | 34And you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging. |
| 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.” | 35You will say, "They have struck me, but I am not harmed! They beat me, but I did not know it! When will I awake? I will look for another drink." |
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