1When thou sittest to eat with a ruler , consider diligently what is before thee: 2And put a knife to thy throat , if thou be a man given to appetite . 3Be not desirous of his dainties : for they are deceitful meat .
The Value of Wisdom
4Labour not to be rich : cease from thine own wisdom . 5Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings ; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven . 6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye , neither desire thou his dainty meats : 7For as he thinketh in his heart , 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 ears of a fool : for he will despise the wisdom of thy words . 10Remove not the old landmark ; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless : 11For their redeemer is mighty ; he shall plead their cause with thee. 12Apply thine 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 beatest him with the rod , he shall not die . 14Thou shalt beat him with the rod , and shalt deliver his soul from hell . 15My son , if thine heart be wise , my heart shall rejoice , even mine . 16Yea, my reins shall rejoice , when thy lips speak right things .
Warnings Against Immorality
17Let not thine heart envy sinners : but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. 18For surely there is an end ; and thine expectation shall not be cut off . 19Hear thou, my son , and be wise , and guide thine heart in the way . 20Be not among winebibbers ; among riotous eaters of flesh : 21For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty : and drowsiness shall 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; also 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. 25Thy father and thy mother shall be glad , and she that bare thee shall rejoice . 26My son , give me thine heart , and let thine eyes observe my ways . 27For a whore is a deep ditch ; and a strange woman is a narrow pit . 28She also lieth in wait as for a prey , and increaseth the transgressors among men . 29Who hath woe ? who hath sorrow ? who hath contentions ? who hath babbling ? who hath wounds without cause ? who hath redness of eyes ? 30They that tarry long at the wine ; they that go to seek mixed wine . 31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red , when it giveth his colour in the cup , when it moveth itself aright . 32At the last it biteth like a serpent , and stingeth like an adder . 33Thine eyes shall behold strange women , and thine 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 sick ; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake ? I will seek it yet again.