1  When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what¹ is before you,

2  and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite.

3  ^cDo not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food.

4  ^dDo not toil to acquire wealth;

^ebe discerning enough to desist.

5  When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

^ffor suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven.

6  ^gDo not eat the bread of a man who is ^hstingy;²

ⁱdo not desire his delicacies,

7  for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.³

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

but his ^jheart is not with you.

8  You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,

and waste your pleasant words.

9  Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

for he will despise the good sense of your words.

10  ^kDo not move an ancient landmark

or enter the fields of the fatherless,

11  for their ^lRedeemer is strong;

he will ^mplead their cause against you.

12  Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear to words of knowledge.

13  Do not withhold ⁿdiscipline from a child;

^oif you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

14  If you strike him with the rod,

you will ^psave his soul from Sheol.

15  ^qMy son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad.

16  My ^rinmost being⁴ will exult

when your lips speak ^swhat is right.

17  Let not your heart ^tenvy sinners,

but continue in ^uthe fear of the Lord all the day.

18  Surely ^vthere is a future,

and your ^whope will not be cut off.

19  Hear, my son, and ^xbe wise,

and ^ydirect your heart in the way.

20  Be not among ^zdrunkards⁵

or among ^agluttonous eaters of meat,

21  for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and ^bslumber will clothe them with rags.

22  ^cListen to your father who gave you life,

^dand do not despise your mother when she is old.

23  ^eBuy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

24  ^fThe father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

25  ^fLet your father and mother be glad;

let ^gher who bore you rejoice.

26  My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe⁶ my ways.

27  For a prostitute is ^ha deep pit;

ⁱan adulteress⁷ is a narrow ^jwell.

28  ^kShe lies in wait like a robber

and increases the traitors among mankind.

29  ^lWho has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has ^mwounds without cause?

Who has ⁿredness of eyes?

30  Those who ^otarry long over wine;

those who go to try ^pmixed wine.

31  Do not look at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly.

32  In the end it ^qbites like a serpent

and stings like an adder.

33  Your eyes will see strange things,

and your heart utter ^rperverse things.

34  You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

like one who lies on the top of a mast.⁸

35  “They ^sstruck me,” you will say,⁹ “but I was not hurt;

they beat me, but I did not feel it.

When shall I awake?

I ^tmust have another drink.”