King James Bible

New Living Translation

1When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:

1While dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you.

2And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.

2If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat;

3Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.

3don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you.

4Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.

4Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit.

5Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

5In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.

6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:

6Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies.

7For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

7They are always thinking about how much it costs. “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it.

8The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.

8You will throw up what little you’ve eaten, and your compliments will be wasted.

9Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

9Don’t waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice.

10Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

10Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers; don’t take the land of defenseless orphans.

11For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.

11For their Redeemer is strong; he himself will bring their charges against you.

12Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.

12Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge.

13Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

13Don’t fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won’t kill them.

14Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

14Physical discipline may well save them from death.

15My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.

15My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice!

16Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.

16Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right.

17Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.

17Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the LORD.

18For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.

18You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed.

19Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.

19My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course.

20Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:

20Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons,

21For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

21for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags.

22Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

22Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.

23Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

23Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment.

24The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.

24The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise.

25Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.

25So give your father and mother joy! May she who gave you birth be happy.

26My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

26O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.

27For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

27A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.

28She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.

28She hides and waits like a robber, eager to make more men unfaithful.

29Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?

29Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

30They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.

30It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks.

31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

31Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down.

32At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.

32For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper.

33Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.

33You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy 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.

34You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying 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.

35And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?”

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.