1
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.
Don't eat the bread of a person with an evil eye.
12
Apply thine heart unto
instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Try to learn as much as you can.
13
Withhold not
correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall
not die.
Beat your children with a rod. It won't kill them.
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.
And you'll deliever their souls from hell. [1]
16
Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
My kidneys will rejoice. [2]
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.
Fear God all day long. [3]
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.
Stay away from those who drink wine [4] and eat flesh [5].
22
Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when
she is old.
Listen to your father,
and don't despise your mother when she is old. [6]
23
Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and
understanding.
Value truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding. [7]
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.
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.
They lie in wait trying to capture 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.
Those who drink too much wine have woe sorrow, contentions, babbling, reddness of the eyes, and wounds without cause.
[9]
31
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in
the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
Don't look at the wine while it is red.
32
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Red wine bites like a serpent and stings 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.
If you drink it, you'll see strange women and utter perverse things.
Notes
- Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall
not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. (vv.13-14)
Beat your children hard and often. Don't
worry about hurting them. You may break a few bones and cause some brain damage,
but it isn't going to kill them. And even if it does, they'll be better off for it.
They'll thank you in heaven for beating the hell out of them.
What the Bible says about parenting and
torture
- My reins will rejoice. (v.16)
reins are kidneys in the KJV.
- Be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. (v.17)
Should we fear God?
- Be not among winebibbers. (v.20a)
Is it OK to drink alcohol?
- Be not ... among riotous eaters of flesh (v.20b)
What kind of animals may we eat?
- Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when
she is old. (v.22)
How should parents be treated?
- Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and
understanding. (v.23)
Is wisdom a good thing?
- The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice. (v.24)
Has there ever been a righteous person?
- Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling?
who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. (vv.29-30)
Is it OK to drink alcohol?
- When you eat dinner with an important person, think about what to say and don't overeat.
- When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given
to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat. 23:1-3
- Avoid wealth.
- Labour not to be rich. 23:4
- Don't eat bread with anyone who has an evil eye.
- Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats. 23:6
- Don't talk to fools.
- Speak not in the ears of a fool. 23:9
- Don't remove your neighbor's landmark.
- Remove not the old landmark. 23:10a
- Don't walk on the fields of the fatherless.
- Enter not into the fields of the fatherless. 23:10b
- Be instructed.
- Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. 23:12
- Beat your children and don't stop just because they cry.
- Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod,
and shalt deliver his soul from hell. 23:13-14
- Don't envy the bad guys.
- Let not thine heart envy sinners. 23:17a
- Fear God.
- Be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. 23:17b
- Be wise.
- Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. 23:19
- Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. 23:23
- Stay away from winebibbers.
- Be not among winebibbers. 23:20
- Stay away from wild-eyed meat eaters.
- Be not ... among riotous eaters of flesh. 23:20b
- Listen to your father.
- Hearken unto thy father that begat thee. 23:22a
- Don't hate your mother when she gets old.
- Despise not thy mother when she is old. 23:22b
- Be instructed.
- Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. 23:12
- Buy ... instruction. 23:23
- Find and adhere to the truth.
- Buy the truth, and sell it not. 23:23
- Obey the author of the book of Proverbs.
- My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. 23:26
- Don't look at the wine while it is red.
- Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth
like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. 23:31-33
- Dwindling in Unbelief
- The Bible's guide
to torture (23:13-14)
- Why Christian "Marriage" is Wrong
(23:13-14)
- Jesus will
search your kidneys (23:16)
- God hates brats (23:13-14)