Proverbs 23

Proverbs · Chapter 23

Proverbs 23:2

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
2And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.And put a knife to thy throat, If thou be a man given to appetite.

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
and you will putוְשַׂמְתָּ֣ve-sam-TAH7760HNo entry
a knifeשַׂכִּ֣יןsa-KINH7915
knife

שַׂכִּין (sak.kin) knife

in throat yourבְּלֹעֶ֑ךָbe-lo-'E-khaH3930
throat

לֹעַ (lo.a) throat

ifאִם־'im-H0518A
if

אִם (im) : if/whether_or/though 1) if 1a) conditional clauses 1a1) of possible situations 1a2) of impossible situations 1b) oath contexts 1b1) no, not 1c) if...if, whether...or, whether...or...or 1d) when, whenever 1e) since 1f) interrogative particle 1g) but rather

[are] a master ofבַּ֖עַלBA-'alH1167I
master

בַּעַל (ba.al) : master/leader 1) owner, husband, lord 1a) owner 1b) a husband 1c) citizens, inhabitants 1d) rulers, lords 1e) (noun of relationship used to characterise-ie, master of dreams)

appetiteנֶ֣פֶשׁNE-feshH5315L
soul

נֶ֫פֶשׁ (ne.phesh) 1) soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion 1a) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man 1b) living being 1c) living being (with life in the blood) 1d) the man himself, self, person or individual 1e) seat of the appetites 1f) seat of emotions and passions 1g) activity of mind 1g1) uncertain 1h) activity of the will 1h1) uncertain 1i) activity of the character 1i1) uncertain

youאָֽתָּה׃'A-tahH0859A
you

אַנְתָּה (an.tah) you, thou (second pers. sing.) Aramaic of at.tah (אַתָּ֫ה "you(m.s.)" H0859A)

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