Proverbs 23:1-14 ▼

1 Whenever you sit down to dine with a ruler, carefully think about what is before you.

2 Put a knife to your own throat, if you have a big appetite.

3 Don't crave his delicacies, because the meal is deceptive.

4 Don't exhaust yourself acquiring wealth; be smart enough to stop.

5 When you fix your gaze on it, it's gone, for it sprouts wings for itself and flies to the sky like an eagle.

6 Don't consume food provided by a miserly person, and don't desire his delicacies,

7 for as he thinks within himself, so he is. |Eat and drink!| he'll say to you, but his heart won't be with you.

8 You'll vomit up what little you've eaten, and your compliments will have been wasted.

9 Don't speak when a fool is listening, because he'll despise your wise words.

10 Don't move ancient boundaries or invade fields belonging to orphans;

11 for strong is their Redeemer who will take up their case against you.

12 Learn diligently, and listen to words of knowledge.

13 Don't withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with a rod, he won't die.

14 Punish him with a rod, and you will rescue his soul from Sheol.