Proverbs 23

Words of the Wise

1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what 1 is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to appetite.
3 c Do not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
4 d Do not toil to acquire wealth;
e be discerning enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
f for suddenly it sprouts wings,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.
6 g Do not eat the bread of a man who is h stingy; 2
i do not desire his delicacies,
7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. 3
"Eat and drink!" he says to you,
but his j heart 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 k Do not move an ancient landmark
or enter the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their l Redeemer is strong;
he will m plead their cause against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold n discipline from a child;
o if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14 If you strike him with the rod,
you will p save his soul from Sheol.
15 q My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will be glad.
16 My r inmost being 4 will exult
when your lips speak s what is right.
17 Let not your heart t envy sinners,
but continue in u the fear of the Lord all the day.
18 Surely v there is a future,
and your w hope will not be cut off.

19 Hear, my son, and x be wise,
and y direct your heart in the way.
20 Be not among z drunkards 5
or among a gluttonous eaters of meat,
21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and b slumber will clothe them with rags.

22 c Listen to your father who gave you life,
d and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 e Buy truth, and do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 f The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25 f Let your father and mother be glad;
let g her who bore you rejoice.

26 My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe 6 my ways.
27 For a prostitute is h a deep pit;
i an adulteress 7 is a narrow j well.
28 k She lies in wait like a robber
and increases the traitors among mankind.

29 l Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has m wounds without cause?
Who has n redness of eyes?
30 Those who o tarry long over wine;
those who go to try p mixed 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 q bites like a serpent
and stings like an adder.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart utter r perverse 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 s struck me," you will say, 9 "but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I t must have another drink."

  1. Cross References
    Proverbs 23:6
    Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies.
  2. Cross References
    Proverbs 15:27
    Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.
    Proverbs 28:20
    A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
    Matthew 6:19
    Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
    1 Timothy 6:9 - 10
    But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
    Hebrews 13:5
    Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.
  3. Cross References
    Proverbs 3:5
    Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
    Proverbs 3:7
    Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
    Proverbs 26:12
    Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
    Isaiah 5:21
    Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
    Romans 12:16
    Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
  4. Cross References
    Proverbs 27:24
    For riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations?
  5. Cross References
    Psalms 141:4
    Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!
  6. Cross References
    Proverbs 28:22
    A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.
    Deuteronomy 15:9
    Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, 'The seventh year, the year of release is near,' and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin.
  7. Cross References
    Proverbs 23:3
    Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.
  8. Cross References
    Psalms 12:2
    Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
  9. Cross References
    Proverbs 22:28
    Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.
  10. Cross References
    Exodus 6:6
    Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
    Job 19:25
    For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
  11. Cross References
    Proverbs 22:23
    For the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them.
  12. Cross References
    Proverbs 13:24
    Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
  13. Cross References
    Proverbs 19:18
    Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.
  14. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 5:5
    You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
  15. Cross References
    Proverbs 23:24 - 25
    The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
    Proverbs 29:3
    He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
  16. Cross References
    Psalms 7:9
    Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous - you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!
    Psalms 73:21
    When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart.
  17. Cross References
    Proverbs 8:6
    Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right.
  18. Cross References
    Psalms 37:1
    Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!
  19. Cross References
    Proverbs 28:14
    Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
  20. Cross References
    Proverbs 24:14
    Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
    Proverbs 24:20
    For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
  21. Cross References
    Psalms 9:18
    For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
  22. Cross References
    Proverbs 6:6
    Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
  23. Cross References
    Proverbs 9:6
    Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.
  24. Cross References
    Proverbs 23:29 - 30
    Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Wh...
    Isaiah 5:11
    Woe to those who rise early in the morning, tha...
    Isaiah 5:22
    Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, a...
    Matthew 24:49
    And begins to beat his fellow servants and eats...
    Luke 21:34
    But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighe...
    Romans 13:13
    Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in ...
    Ephesians 5:18
    And do not get drunk with wine, for that is deb...
  25. Cross References
    Proverbs 28:7
    The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding, but a companion of gluttons shames his father.
  26. Cross References
    Proverbs 6:10 - 11
    A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest.
  27. Cross References
    Proverbs 1:8
    Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching.
  28. Cross References
    Proverbs 30:17
    The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.
  29. Cross References
    Proverbs 4:5
    Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
    Proverbs 4:7
    The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
    Proverbs 18:15
    An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
    Matthew 13:44
    The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
  30. Cross References
    Proverbs 23:15
    My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad.
    Proverbs 29:3
    He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
  31. Cross References
    Proverbs 23:24
    The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
  32. Cross References
    Proverbs 17:25
    A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
  33. Cross References
    Proverbs 22:14
    The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit; he with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.
  34. Cross References
    Proverbs 2:16
    So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words.
  35. Cross References
    Psalms 55:23
    But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
  36. Cross References
    Proverbs 7:12
    Now in the street, now in the market, and at every corner she lies in wait.
    Ecclesiastes 7:26
    And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.
  37. Cross References
    Proverbs 23:20 - 21
    Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat.
  38. Cross References
    Proverbs 23:35
    "They struck me," you will say, "but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink."
  39. Cross References
    Genesis 49:12
    His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
  40. Cross References
    Isaiah 5:11
    Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!
  41. Cross References
    Proverbs 9:2
    She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table.
    Proverbs 9:5
    Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.
    Psalms 75:8
    For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
    Isaiah 5:22
    Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink.
    Isaiah 65:11
    But you who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny.
  42. Cross References
    Job 20:16
    He will suck the poison of cobras; the tongue of a viper will kill him.
  43. Cross References
    Proverbs 2:12
    Delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech.
  44. Cross References
    Jeremiah 5:3
    O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent.
    Proverbs 23:29
    Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
  45. Cross References
    Isaiah 56:12
    "Come," they say, "let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure."
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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