1When you sit to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what is before you,

2and put a knife to your throat
if you are a person who likes to eat a lot of food.

3Do not crave his delicacies,
for it is the food of lies.

4Do not work too hard to gain wealth;
be wise enough to know when to stop.

5Will you let your eyes light upon it?
It will be gone,
for it will surely take up wings like an eagle
and fly off to the sky.

6Do not eat the food of one with an evil eye—
and do not crave his delicacies,

7for he is the kind of man who counts the price of the food.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.

8You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and you will have wasted your compliments.

9Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

10Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of orphans,

11for their Redeemer is strong
and he will plead their case against you.

12Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.

13Do not withhold instruction from a child,
for if you discipline him, he will not die.

14It is you who must beat him with the rod
and save his soul from Sheol.

15My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart also will be glad;

16my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.

17Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of Yahweh all the day.

18Surely there is a future
and your hope will not be cut off.

19Hear—you!—my son, and be wise
and direct your heart in the way.

20Do not associate with drunkards,
or with gluttonous eaters of meat,

21for the drunkard and the glutton become poor
and slumber will clothe them with rags.

22Listen to your father who begot you
and do not despise your mother when she is old.

23Buy the truth, but do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

24The father of the righteous person will greatly rejoice,
and he who begets a wise child will be glad in him.

25Let your father and your mother be glad
and let her who bore you rejoice.

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

27For a prostitute is a deep pit,
and an immoral woman is a narrow well.

28She lies in wait like a robber
and she increases the number of the treacherous among humanity.

29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has fights?
Who has complaining? Who has wounds for no reason?
Who has bloodshot eyes?

30Those who linger over wine,
those who try the mixed wine.

31Do not look at the wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.

32In the last it bites like a serpent
and it stings like an adder.

33Your eyes will see strange things
and your heart will utter perverse things.

34You will be as one who sleeps on the high seas
or lies on the top of a mast.

35“They hit me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt.
They beat me, but I did not feel it.
When will I wake up? I will seek another drink.”