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Proverbs 23 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:1 - While dining with a ruler,
pay attention to what is put before you.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:2 - If you are a big eater,
put a knife to your throat;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:3 - don’t desire all the delicacies,
for he might be trying to trick you.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:4 - Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.
Be wise enough to know when to quit.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:5 - In the blink of an eye wealth disappears,
for it will sprout wings
and fly away like an eagle.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:6 - Don’t eat with people who are stingy;
don’t desire their delicacies.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:7 - They are always thinking about how much it costs.[fn]
“Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:8 - You will throw up what little you’ve eaten,
and your compliments will be wasted.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:9 - Don’t waste your breath on fools,
for they will despise the wisest advice.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:10 - Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers;
don’t take the land of defenseless orphans.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:11 - For their Redeemer[fn] is strong;
he himself will bring their charges against you.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:12 - Commit yourself to instruction;
listen carefully to words of knowledge.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:13 - Don’t fail to discipline your children.
They won’t die if you spank them.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:14 - Physical discipline
may well save them from death.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:15 - My child,[fn] if your heart is wise,
my own heart will rejoice!
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:16 - Everything in me will celebrate
when you speak what is right.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:17 - Don’t envy sinners,
but always continue to fear the LORD.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:18 - You will be rewarded for this;
your hope will not be disappointed.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:19 - My child, listen and be wise:
Keep your heart on the right course.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:20 - Do not carouse with drunkards
or feast with gluttons,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:21 - for they are on their way to poverty,
and too much sleep clothes them in rags.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:22 - Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:23 - Get the truth and never sell it;
also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:24 - The father of godly children has cause for joy.
What a pleasure to have children who are wise.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:25 - So give your father and mother joy!
May she who gave you birth be happy.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:26 - O my son, give me your heart.
May your eyes take delight in following my ways.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:27 - A prostitute is a dangerous trap;
a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:28 - She hides and waits like a robber,
eager to make more men unfaithful.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:29 - Who has anguish? Who has sorrow?
Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining?
Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:30 - It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns,
trying out new drinks.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:31 - Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is,
how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:32 - For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake;
it stings like a viper.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:33 - You will see hallucinations,
and you will say crazy things.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:34 - You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea,
clinging to a swaying mast.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 23:35 - And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it.
I didn’t even know it when they beat me up.
When will I wake up
so I can look for another drink?”
NLT Footnotes
The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Or redeemer.
Hebrew from Sheol.
Hebrew My son; also in 23:19.
Hebrew to have a wise son.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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