箴言 23

¹你若与官长坐席，要留意在你面前的是谁。When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,

²你若是贪食的，就当拿刀放在喉咙上。and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.

³不可贪恋他的美食，因为是哄人的食物。Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

⁴不要劳碌求富，休仗自己的聪明。Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.

⁵你岂要定睛在虚无的钱财上吗？因钱财必长翅膀，如鹰向天飞去。When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.

⁶不要吃恶眼人的饭，也不要贪他的美味；Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;

⁷因为他心怎样思量，他为人就是怎样。他虽对你说，请吃，请喝，他的心却与你相背。for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

⁸你所吃的那点食物必吐出来；你所说的甘美言语也必落空。You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.

⁹你不要说话给愚昧人听，因他必藐视你智慧的言语。Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰不可挪移古时的地界，也不可侵入孤儿的田地；Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

¹¹因他们的救赎主大有能力，他必向你为他们辨屈。for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.

¹²你要留心领受训诲，侧耳听从知识的言语。Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

¹³不可不管教孩童；你用杖打他，他必不至于死。Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

¹⁴你要用杖打他，就可以救他的灵魂免下阴间。Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.

¹⁵我儿，你心若存智慧，我的心也甚欢喜。My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.

¹⁶你的嘴若说正直话，我的心肠也必快乐。My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.

¹⁷你心中不要嫉妒罪人，只要终日敬畏耶和华；Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.

¹⁸因为至终必有善报，你的指望也不致断绝。For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁹我儿，你当听，当存智慧，好在正道上引导你的心。Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.

²⁰好饮酒的，好吃肉的，不要与他们来往；Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.

²¹因为好酒贪食的，必致贫穷；好睡觉的，必穿破烂衣服。For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.

²²你要听从生你的父亲；你母亲老了，也不可藐视她。Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

²³你当买真理；就是智慧、训诲，和聪明也都不可卖。Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.

²⁴义人的父亲必大得快乐；人生智慧的儿子，必因他欢喜。The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.

²⁵你要使父母欢喜，使生你的快乐。May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!

²⁶我儿，要将你的心归我；你的眼目也要喜悦我的道路。My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.

²⁷妓女是深坑；外女是窄阱。For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.

²⁸她埋伏好像强盗；她使人中多有奸诈的。Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.

²⁹谁有祸患？谁有忧愁？谁有争斗？谁有哀叹（或译：怨言）？谁无故受伤？谁眼目红赤？Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰就是那流连饮酒、常去寻找调和酒的人。Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.

^31–32酒发红，在杯中闪烁，你不可观看，虽然下咽舒畅，终久是咬你如蛇，刺你如毒蛇。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.

³³你眼必看见异怪的事（或译：淫妇）；你心必发出乖谬的话。Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.

³⁴你必像躺在海中，或像卧在桅杆上。You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast:

³⁵你必说：人打我，我却未受伤；人鞭打我，我竟不觉得。我几时清醒，我仍去寻酒。“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?”