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 food .
The Value of Wisdom
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 thinketh within himself , so is he : Eat and drink , saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee.
Parental Guidance
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 will plead their cause against thee. 12Apply thy heart unto instruction , And thine ears to the words of knowledge .
The Joy of a Wise Child
13Withhold not correction from the child ; For if thou beat him with the rod , he will not die . 14Thou shalt beat him with the rod , And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol . 15My son , if thy heart be wise , My heart will be glad , even mine : 16Yea, my heart will rejoice , When thy lips speak right things .
Warnings Against Immorality
17Let not thy heart envy sinners ; But be thou in the fear of Jehovah 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 thy 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 will clothe a man with rags .
The Consequences of Foolishness
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 will greatly rejoice ; And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him . 25Let thy father and thy mother be glad , And let her that bare thee rejoice . 26My son , give me thy heart ; And let thine eyes delight in my ways . 27For a harlot is a deep ditch ; And a foreign 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 sparkleth 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 thy heart shall utter perverse 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 .