Proverbs 23

Proverbs · Chapter 23

Proverbs 23:12

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.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.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.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.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.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.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
12Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.Apply thy heart unto instruction, And thine ears to the words of knowledge.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
bring !הָבִ֣יאָהha-VI-'ahH0935P
to come (in): come

בּוֹא (bo) : come/go_in 1) to go in, enter, come, go, come in 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to enter, come in 1a2) to come 1a2a) to come with 1a2b) to come upon, fall or light upon, attack (enemy) 1a2c) to come to pass 1a3) to attain to 1a4) to be enumerated 1a5) to go 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to lead in 1b2) to carry in 1b3) to bring in, cause to come in, gather, cause to come, bring near, bring against, bring upon 1b4) to bring to pass 1c) (Hophal) 1c1) to be brought, brought in 1c2) to be introduced, be put

to the disciplineלַמּוּסָ֣רla-mu-SARH4148H
discipline

מוּסָר (mu.sar) : discipline/punishment 1) discipline, chastening, correction 1a) discipline, correction 1b) chastening

heart yourלִבֶּ֑ךָli-BE-khaH3820A
mind

בָּל (bal) mind, heart Aramaic of lev (לֵב "heart" H3820A)

and ears yourוְ֝אָזְנֶ֗ךָve-'a-ze-NE-khaH0241G
ear

אֹ֫זֶן (o.zen) : ear 1) ear, as part of the body 2) ear, as organ of hearing 3) (subjective) to uncover the ear to reveal; the receiver of divine revelation

to words ofלְאִמְרֵי־le-'im-rei-H0561
word

אֵמֶר (e.mer) utterance, speech, word, saying, promise, command

knowledgeדָֽעַת׃DA-'atH1847
knowledge

דַּ֫עַת (da.at) 1) knowledge 1a) knowledge, perception, skill 1b) discernment, understanding, wisdom

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.