Proverbs 23

¹When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,

²and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.

³Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

⁴Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.

⁵When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.

⁶Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;

⁷for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

⁸You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.

⁹Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

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

¹²Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

¹³Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

¹⁴Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.

¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.