[1] When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
[2] and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
[3] Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
[4] Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
[5] When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
[6] Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
[7] for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
[8] You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
[9] Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
[10] Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
[11] for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
[12] Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
[13] Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
[14] Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.
[15] My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
[16] My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
[17] Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
[18] For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
[19] Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
[20] Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
[21] For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
[22] Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
[23] Invest in truth and never sell it— in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
[24] The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
[25] May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
[26] My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
[27] For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
[28] Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.
[29] Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
[30] Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
[31] Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
[32] In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
[33] Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
[34] You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast:
[35] “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?”