Proverbs 23:1-14

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.