Proverbs 23

²If you always want more food, stop yourself. Your hunger should not control you. You must be in charge of what you want.

³Do not want the special food of a powerful person. It may look wonderful. But it is a trap — it is not what it seems.

⁴Do not wear yourself out trying to get rich. Stop trusting only in your own clever ideas. That is not wisdom.

⁵Why do you stare at riches? They are not really yours to keep. Riches grow wings and fly away. They go like an eagle to the sky.

⁶Do not eat the food of a stingy, mean person. Do not want his special things. His eye is evil. He is not truly giving.

⁷What a person thinks inside is who they really are. He says: eat, drink! But his heart is not truly with you. His words are not honest.

⁸The food you eat there will make you feel sick inside. And all your kind words will be wasted. Nothing good will come from it.

⁹Do not share wisdom with someone who hates it. A foolish person will just really hate your wise words. Your wisdom will be wasted on them.

¹⁰Do not move the boundary stones that belong to someone else. Do not take land from children who have no father. That is very wrong.

¹¹The one who fights for them is mighty. God is on their side. He will stand up for them against you.

¹²Give your heart to learning. Open your ears to words of knowledge. Let what you hear go deep inside you.

¹³Do not hold back correction from a child. Discipline helps them. It will not destroy them — it will help them grow.

¹⁴Loving discipline saves a child. It keeps them from the wrong path. Correction now protects their whole life.

¹⁵My child, if your heart grows in wisdom, my heart will be so glad! Your wisdom fills my heart with joy.

¹⁶My whole inner self will jump for joy. When your lips speak what is right and true, I am overjoyed inside.

¹⁷Do not want what people who do wrong have. Instead, honour and respect God every single day. That is the better way.

¹⁸There is always an end to every story. Keep trusting God. Your hope will not be cut off. God's way leads to the best ending.

¹⁹Listen, my child. Be wise. Guide your heart on the right way. You must lead your own heart well.

²⁰Do not spend time with people who drink too much. Do not be with those who eat wildly without control. Stay away from that crowd.

²¹The person who drinks too much and eats without control will end up with nothing. Laziness and no self-control will leave them in rags.

²²Listen to your father. He is the one who raised you. Do not reject your mother when she is old. Honour them both.

²³Get the truth. Pay any price for it. Never let it go. Hold on to wisdom. Hold on to what is right.

²⁴A father whose child does right is filled with great joy. A parent who raises a wise child — that child is their greatest joy.

²⁵Your father and your mother will be glad. The mother who gave birth to you will rejoice. Your wisdom is their great happiness.

²⁶My child, give me your heart. Watch my ways. Follow how I walk. Let your heart be fully with me.

²⁷The wrong path leads to a very deep trap. It catches those who fall into it. It is very hard to get out. Stay away from it.

²⁸This wrong path waits like a hunter for those who do not see the danger. More and more people fall into sin this way. Be alert.

²⁹Who has trouble? Who has sorrow? Who fights with everyone? Who is always confused? Who gets hurt for no reason? Who has sore, red eyes?

³⁰These troubles come to those who stay too long drinking wine. They keep going back for more. That is who ends up this way.

³¹Do not even look at the wine when it looks beautiful in the cup. Do not let its beauty pull you in. The danger is real.

³²In the end, it bites like a snake. It stings like a deadly serpent. What looked beautiful causes great harm in the end.

³³Your eyes will see wrong things. Your heart will think and say things that are twisted and bad. This is where that path leads.

³⁴You will be like someone sleeping in the middle of a wild sea. Or someone lying on top of a tall ship mast. You will be in great danger and not even know it.

³⁵The person says: They hit me and I did not feel it. They hurt me and I did not notice. When I wake up, I will go and do it all again. This is a terrible trap.