²⁰ Have I not written to you already ^[2] with advice and knowledge,
²¹ in order to make accurate, true words known to you,
so that you may reply with true words to those who sent you?

²² Do not rob a poor person because he is poor,
and do not crush an oppressed person in court, ^[3]
23 because the Lord will defend their cause,
and he will rob those who rob them of their lives.

²⁴ Do not be friends with a hothead.
Do not go along with someone who has a hot temper.
²⁵ If you do, you will learn his ways
and set a trap for yourself. ^[4]

²⁶ Do not be among those who shake hands to guarantee debts.
²⁷ If you do not have enough to repay,
why should your bed be taken out from under you?

²⁸ Do not move an ancient boundary marker
    that your ancestors made.

²⁹ Do you see a person who is efficient in his work?
He will serve kings.
He will not serve nobodies. ^[5]

Proverbs 23

¹ When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
pay close attention to what is put in front of you,
² and put a knife to your throat if you have a big appetite.
³ Do not crave his delicious food.
That food is deceptive.

⁴ Do not wear yourself out getting rich.
Have the good judgment to know when to stop.
⁵ Will your eyes get a glimpse of wealth before it is gone?
No, it will sprout wings for itself.
Like an eagle it will fly away into the sky.

⁶ Do not eat the food of a miser.
Do not crave his delicious food,
⁷ because he is calculating how much things cost him.
So when he says to you, “Eat and drink,”
he does not mean it.
⁸ You will vomit up the little bit you ate
and spoil your pleasant conversation.

⁹ Do not speak within earshot of a fool,
because he will despise your sensible words.

¹⁰ Do not move an ancient boundary marker,
and do not enter the fields of the fatherless,
¹¹ because their Redeemer is strong.
He will defend their cause against you.

¹² Apply your heart to discipline
and your ear to words that give knowledge.

¹³ Do not withhold discipline from a child,
for if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
¹⁴ Strike him yourself with a rod,
and you will rescue his soul from death.

¹⁵ My son, if your mind ^[6] is wise,
my mind will rejoice as well.
¹⁶ My heart ^[7] will celebrate
when your lips speak upright things.

¹⁷ Do not allow your heart to envy sinners.
Instead, always fear the Lord.
¹⁸ Indeed, there is a future,
and your hope will never be cut off.

¹⁹ Listen, my son, and be wise,
and keep your heart on the straight way.
²⁰ Do not be among those who drink too much wine,
or those who eat too much meat,
²¹ because a drunk and a glutton will become poor,
and drunken stupor dresses a person in rags.

²² Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
²³ Buy truth and do not sell it.
Buy wisdom, discipline, and knowledge.
²⁴ The father of a righteous child will celebrate greatly.
One who fathers a wise son will find joy in him.
²⁵ Your father and your mother will find joy,
and she who gave birth to you will celebrate.

²⁶ My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes be pleased with my ways,
²⁷ because a prostitute is a deep pit,
and an immoral woman is a narrow well.
²⁸ She is also like a robber waiting to ambush someone,
and she multiplies unfaithful men among the people.

²⁹ Who has trouble? Who has misery?
Who has quarrels? Who has complaints?
Who has wounds for no reason? Who has glazed eyes?
³⁰ Those who linger over wine,
those who go to search for mixed wine.
³¹ Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly.
³² Later it bites like a snake,
and it strikes like a venomous viper.
³³ Your eyes will see strange things,
and your mind will say senseless things.
³⁴ You will be like someone who tries to sleep in the middle of the sea,
like someone who tries to sleep at the top of a ship’s mast.
³⁵ “They struck me, but I felt no pain.
They beat me, but I was not aware of it.
When will I wake up, so that I can try it again?”