Bible-Reading.comProverbs 23
1When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently him that is before thee;
2And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
3Be not desirous of his dainties; seeing they are deceitful meat.
4Weary not thyself to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom.
5Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties:
7For as he reckoneth within himself, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
9Speak not in the hearing of a fool; for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10Remove not the ancient landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11For their redeemer is strong; he shall plead their cause against thee.
12Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beat him with the rod, he shall not die.
14Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.
15My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall be glad, even mine:
16Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
17Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long:
18For surely there is a reward; and thy hope shall not be cut off.
19Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
20Be not among winebibbers; among gluttonous eaters of flesh:
21For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
22Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23Buy the truth, and sell it not; yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
25Let thy father and thy mother be glad, and let her that bare thee rejoice.
26My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes delight in my ways.
27For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28Yea, she lieth in wait as a robber, and increaseth the treacherous among men.
29Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek out mixed wine.
31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup, when it goeth down smoothly.
32At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33Thine eyes shall behold strange things, and thine heart shall utter froward things.
34Yea, 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.
35They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Proverbs 24
1Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
2For their heart studieth oppression, and their lips talk of mischief.
3Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
4And by knowledge are the chambers filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
5A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth might.
6For by wise guidance thou shalt make thy war: and in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
8He that deviseth to do evil, men shall call him a mischievous person.
9The thought of the foolish is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
10If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
11Deliver them that are carried away unto death, and those that are ready to be slain see that thou hold back.
12If thou sayest, Behold, we knew not this: doth not he that weigheth the hearts consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his work?
13My son, eat thou honey, for it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
14So shalt thou know wisdom to be unto thy soul: if thou hast found it, then shall there be a reward, and thy hope shall not be cut off.
15Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:
16For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
17Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he is overthrown:
18Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
19Fret not thyself because of evil-doers; neither be thou envious at the wicked:
20For there will be no reward to the evil man; the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
21My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
22For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the destruction of them both?
23These also are sayings of the wise. To have respect of persons in judgment is not good.
24He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; peoples shall curse him, nations shall abhor him:
25But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
26He kisseth the lips that giveth a right answer.
27Prepare thy work without, and make it ready for thee in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
28Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.
29Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.
30I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, the face thereof was covered with nettles, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32Then I beheld, and considered well: I saw, and received instruction.
33Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
34So shall thy poverty come as a robber; and thy want as an armed man.