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Proverbs 23-24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 23-24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
23 When you sit down to eat with an official,
observe carefully what[a] is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you have a big appetite.
3 Do not desire an official’s[b] delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.(A)
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
be wise enough to desist.(B)
5 When your eyes light upon it, it is gone,
for suddenly it takes wings to itself,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.
6 Do not eat the bread of the stingy;
do not desire their delicacies,(C)
7 for like a hair in the throat, so are they.[c]
“Eat and drink!” they say to you,
but they do not mean it.(D)
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten,
and you will waste your pleasant words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
who will only despise the wisdom of your words.(E)
10 Do not remove an ancient landmark
or encroach on the fields of orphans,(F)
11 for their vindicator[d] is strong;
he will plead their cause against you.(G)
12 Apply your mind to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.(H)
13 Do not withhold discipline from your children;
if you beat them with a rod, they will not die.(I)
14 If you beat them with the rod,
you will save their lives from Sheol.
15 My child, if your heart is wise,
my heart also will be glad.
16 My soul will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always continue in the fear of the Lord.(J)
18 Surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear, my child, and be wise,
and direct your mind in the way.
20 Do not be among winebibbers
or among gluttonous eaters of meat,(K)
21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and drowsiness will clothe them with rags.(L)
22 Listen to your father who begot you,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.(M)
23 Buy truth, and do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.(N)
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.(O)
25 Let your father and mother be glad;
let her who bore you rejoice.
26 My child, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe[e] my ways.(P)
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit;
an adulteress[f] is a narrow well.(Q)
28 She lies in wait like a robber
and increases the number of the faithless.(R)
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?(S)
30 Those who linger late over wine,
those who keep trying mixed wines.(T)
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
32 At the last it bites like a serpent
and stings like an adder.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and your mind utter perverse things.(U)
34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.[g]
35 “They struck me,” you will say,[h] “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I will seek another drink.”(V)
24 Do not envy the wicked,
nor desire to be with them,(W)
2 for their minds devise violence,
and their lips talk of mischief.(X)
3 By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;(Y)
4 by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.
5 Wise warriors are mightier than strong ones[i]
and those who have knowledge than those who have strength,(Z)
6 for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.(AA)
7 Wisdom is too high for fools;
in the gate they do not open their mouths.(AB)
8 Whoever plans to do evil
will be called a mischief-maker.(AC)
9 The devising of folly is sin,
and the scoffer is an abomination to all.
10 If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength being small;(AD)
11 if you hold back from rescuing those taken away to death,
those who go staggering to the slaughter;(AE)
12 if you say, “Look, we did not know this”—
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it?
And will he not repay all according to their deeds?(AF)
13 My child, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.(AG)
14 Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, you will find a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.(AH)
15 Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against the home of the righteous;
do no violence to the place where the righteous live;(AI)
16 for though they fall seven times, they will rise again,
but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.(AJ)
17 Do not rejoice when your enemies fall,
and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble,(AK)
18 lest the Lord see it and be displeased
and turn away his anger from them.
19 Do not fret because of evildoers.
Do not envy the wicked,(AL)
20 for the evil have no future;
the lamp of the wicked will go out.(AM)
21 My child, fear the Lord and the king,
and do not disobey either of them,[j](AN)
22 for disaster comes from them suddenly,
and who knows the ruin that both can bring?
Further Sayings of the Wise
23 These also are sayings of the wise:
Partiality in judging is not good.(AO)
24 Whoever says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,(AP)
25 but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
and a good blessing will come upon them.(AQ)
26 One who gives an honest answer
gives a kiss on the lips.
27 Prepare your work outside;
get everything ready for you in the field;
and after that build your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your lips.(AR)
29 Do not say, “I will do to others as they have done to me;
I will pay them back for what they have done.”(AS)
30 I passed by the field of one who was lazy,
by the vineyard of a stupid person,(AT)
31 and see, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,(AU)
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want, like an armed warrior.
Footnotes
Proverbs 23-24
New International Version
Proverbs 23-24
New International Version
Saying 7
23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what[a] is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,(A)
for that food is deceptive.
Saying 8
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,(B)
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.(C)
Saying 9
6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;(D)
7 for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.[b]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.
Saying 10
9 Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.(E)
Saying 11
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(F)
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender(G) is strong;(H)
he will take up their case against you.(I)
Saying 12
12 Apply your heart to instruction(J)
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Saying 13
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.(K)
Saying 14
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad indeed;
16 my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.(L)
Saying 15
17 Do not let your heart envy(M) sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.(N)
Saying 16
19 Listen, my son,(O) and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine(P)
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,(Q)
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Saying 17
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.(R)
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it—
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.(S)
24 The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.(T)
25 May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!(U)
Saying 18
26 My son,(V) give me your heart
and let your eyes delight in my ways,(W)
27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,(X)
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Like a bandit she lies in wait(Y)
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
Saying 19
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,(Z)
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
32 In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”(AA)
Saying 20
24 Do not envy(AB) the wicked,
do not desire their company;
2 for their hearts plot violence,(AC)
and their lips talk about making trouble.(AD)
Saying 21
3 By wisdom a house is built,(AE)
and through understanding it is established;
4 through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.(AF)
Saying 22
5 The wise prevail through great power,
and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
6 Surely you need guidance to wage war,
and victory is won through many advisers.(AG)
Saying 23
7 Wisdom is too high for fools;
in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.
Saying 24
8 Whoever plots evil
will be known as a schemer.
9 The schemes of folly are sin,
and people detest a mocker.
Saying 25
10 If you falter in a time of trouble,
how small is your strength!(AH)
11 Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.(AI)
12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not he who weighs(AJ) the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay(AK) everyone according to what they have done?(AL)
Saying 26
13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14 Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:
If you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.(AM)
Saying 27
15 Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,
do not plunder their dwelling place;
16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.(AN)
Saying 28
17 Do not gloat(AO) when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,(AP)
18 or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from them.(AQ)
Saying 29
19 Do not fret(AR) because of evildoers
or be envious of the wicked,
20 for the evildoer has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.(AS)
Saying 30
21 Fear the Lord and the king,(AT) my son,
and do not join with rebellious officials,
22 for those two will send sudden destruction(AU) on them,
and who knows what calamities they can bring?
Further Sayings of the Wise
23 These also are sayings of the wise:(AV)
To show partiality(AW) in judging is not good:(AX)
24 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”(AY)
will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come on them.
26 An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.
28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause(AZ)—
would you use your lips to mislead?
29 Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
I’ll pay them back for what they did.”(BA)
30 I went past the field of a sluggard,(BB)
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest(BC)—
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.(BD)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:1 Or who
- Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is
Proverbs 23-24
King James Version
Proverbs 23-24
King James Version
23 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what 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 meat.
4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11 For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.
12 Apply thine 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 hell.
15 My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16 Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.
18 For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine 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 shall clothe a man 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; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
26 My son, give me thine 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 for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
24 Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
2 For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
8 He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
9 The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
11 If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;
12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
15 Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:
16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
18 Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
19 Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked:
20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
21 My son, fear thou the Lord and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
23 These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
24 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou are righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:
25 But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
26 Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.
27 Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.
29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.
30 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.