Proverbs 23
About ProverbsWritten by AI
Proverbs is a book of wisdom: short, memorable sayings about how to live well in God's world. Most of it is credited to Solomon, Israel's king around 950 BC, but it also gathers sayings from other wise teachers, from Agur and King Lemuel, and a collection copied out by the men of King Hezekiah some two centuries later (25:1).
Chapters 1 to 9 are longer talks, framed as a parent teaching a child, with Wisdom pictured as a woman calling out in the streets. From chapter 10 on, the book turns into collections of separate one or two line sayings. It closes with a poem in praise of a capable, God fearing woman.
The key line comes early: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Watch for the two paths, wise and foolish, and for the many sayings about speech, work, money and friendship. Remember that proverbs describe how life usually goes. They are wise patterns, not promises that every good choice is rewarded at once.
Before you read Proverbs 23Written by AI
The sayings of the wise continue. Notice the warnings about wearing yourself out to get rich, since wealth can fly away like an eagle. Others speak of discipline, of not envying sinners, and of honoring parents. The chapter closes with a striking, almost humorous portrait of drunkenness and where it leads.
True Riches
When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
consider carefully what is set before you,
and put a knife to your throat
if you possess a great appetite.
Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.
Saying 8
Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
be wise enough to restrain yourself.
When you glance at wealth, it disappears,
for it makes wings for itself
and flies like an eagle to the sky.
Saying 9
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man,
and do not crave his delicacies;
for he is keeping track,
inwardly counting the cost.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
You will vomit up what little you have eaten
and waste your pleasant words.
Saying 10
Do not speak to a fool,
for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
Saying 11
Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
for their Redeemer is strong;
He will take up their case against you.
Saying 12
Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Saying 13
Do not withhold discipline from a child;
although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
Strike him with a rod,
and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.
Saying 14
My son, if your heart is wise,
my own heart will indeed rejoice.
My inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.
Saying 15
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
For surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
Saying 16
Listen, my son, and be wise,
and guide your heart on the right course.
Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
Saying 17
Listen to your father who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Invest in truth and never sell it—
in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice,
and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
May your father and mother be glad,
and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
Saying 18
My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes delight in my ways.
For a prostitute is a deep pit,
and an adulteress is a narrow well.
Like a robber she lies in wait
and multiplies the faithless among men.
Saying 19
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaints?
Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
Those who linger over wine,
who go to taste mixed drinks.
Do not gaze at wine while it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
In the end it bites like a snake
and stings like a viper.
Your eyes will see strange things,
and your mind will utter perversities.
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas
or lying on the top of a mast:
“They struck me, but I feel no pain!
They beat me, but I did not know it!
When can I wake up
to search for another drink?”