Proverbs 23

quando sederis ut comedas cum principe diligenter adtende quae posita sunt ante faciem tuam

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

et statue cultrum in gutture tuo si tamen habes in potestate animam tuam

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

ne desideres de cibis eius in quo est panis mendacii

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

noli laborare ut diteris sed prudentiae tuae pone modum

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

ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes quas habere non potes quia facient sibi pinnas quasi aquilae et avolabunt in caelum

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

ne comedas cum homine invido et ne desideres cibos eius

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

quoniam in similitudinem arioli et coniectoris aestimat quod ignorat comede et bibe dicet tibi et mens eius non est tecum

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

cibos quos comederas evomes et perdes pulchros sermones tuos

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

in auribus insipientium ne loquaris quia despicient doctrinam eloquii tui

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

ne adtingas terminos parvulorum et agrum pupillorum ne introeas

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

propinquus enim eorum Fortis est et ipse iudicabit contra te causam illorum

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

ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum et aures tuae ad verba scientiae

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

noli subtrahere a puero disciplinam si enim percusseris eum virga non morietur

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

tu virga percuties eum et animam eius de inferno liberabis

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

fili mi si sapiens fuerit animus tuus gaudebit tecum cor meum

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

et exultabunt renes mei cum locuta fuerint rectum labia tua

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

non aemuletur cor tuum peccatores sed in timore Domini esto tota die

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

quia habebis spem in novissimo et praestolatio tua non auferetur

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

audi fili mi et esto sapiens et dirige in via animum tuum

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

noli esse in conviviis potatorum nec in comesationibus eorum qui carnes ad vescendum conferunt

Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:

quia vacantes potibus et dantes symbola consumentur et vestietur pannis dormitatio

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

audi patrem tuum qui genuit te et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua

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

veritatem eme et noli vendere sapientiam et doctrinam et intellegentiam

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

exultat gaudio pater iusti qui sapientem genuit laetabitur in eo

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

gaudeat pater tuus et mater tua et exultet quae genuit te

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

praebe fili mi cor tuum mihi et oculi tui vias meas custodiant

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

fovea enim profunda est meretrix et puteus angustus aliena

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

insidiatur in via quasi latro et quos incautos viderit interficit

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

cui vae cuius patri vae cui rixae cui foveae cui sine causa vulnera cui suffusio oculorum

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

nonne his qui morantur in vino et student calicibus epotandis

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

ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit cum splenduerit in vitro color eius ingreditur blande

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

sed in novissimo mordebit ut coluber et sicut regulus venena diffundet

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

oculi tui videbunt extraneas et cor tuum loquetur perversa

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

et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari et quasi sopitus gubernator amisso clavo

Yea, 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.

et dices verberaverunt me sed non dolui traxerunt me et ego non sensi quando evigilabo et rursum vina repperiam

They 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.