78 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
78 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 23
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1 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
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consider carefully what is before you,
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2 and put a knife to your throat
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if you have a big appetite;
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3 don’t desire his choice food,
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for that food is deceptive.
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4 Don’t wear yourself out to get rich;
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because you know better, stop!
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5 As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears,
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for it makes wings for itself
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and flies like an eagle to the sky.
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6 Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread,
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and don’t desire his choice food,
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7 for it’s like someone calculating inwardly.
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“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
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but his heart is not with you.
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8 You will vomit the little you’ve eaten
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and waste your pleasant words.
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9 Don’t speak to a fool,
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for he will despise the insight of your words.
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10 Don’t move an ancient boundary marker,
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and don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
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11 for their Redeemer is strong,
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and he will champion their cause against you.
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12 Apply yourself to discipline
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and listen to words of knowledge.
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13 Don’t withhold discipline from a youth;
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if you punish him with a rod, he will not die.
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14 Punish him with a rod,
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and you will rescue his life from Sheol.
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15 My son, if your heart is wise,
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my heart will indeed rejoice.
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16 My innermost being will celebrate
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when your lips say what is right.
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17 Don’t let your heart envy sinners;
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instead, always fear the Lord.
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18 For then you will have a future,
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and your hope will not be dashed.
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19 Listen, my son, and be wise;
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keep your mind on the right course.
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20 Don’t associate with those who drink too much wine
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or with those who gorge themselves on meat.
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21 For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor,
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and grogginess will clothe them in rags.
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22 Listen to your father who gave you life,
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and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
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23 Buy—and do not sell—truth,
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wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
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24 The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly,
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and one who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
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25 Let your father and mother have joy,
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and let her who gave birth to you rejoice.
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26 My son, give me your heart,
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and let your eyes observe my ways.
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27 For a prostitute is a deep pit,
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and a wayward woman is a narrow well;
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28 indeed, she sets an ambush like a robber
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and increases the number of unfaithful people.
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29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
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Who has conflicts? Who has complaints?
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Who has wounds for no reason?
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Who has red eyes?
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30 Those who linger over wine;
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those who go looking for mixed wine.
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31 Don’t gaze at wine because it is red,
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because it gleams in the cup
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and goes down smoothly.
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32 In the end it bites like a snake
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and stings like a viper.
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33 Your eyes will see strange things,
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and you will say absurd things.
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34 You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea
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or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast.
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35 “They struck me, but I feel no pain!
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They beat me, but I didn’t know it!
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When will I wake up?
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I’ll look for another drink.” |