Proverbs 23 - Heartlight

¹When you sit down to dine with a ruler,

consider carefully what is set before you,

²and put a knife to your throat

if you possess a great appetite.

³Do not crave his delicacies,

for that food is deceptive.

⁴Do not wear yourself out to get rich;

be wise enough to restrain yourself.

⁵When you glance at wealth, it disappears,

for it makes wings for itself

and flies like an eagle to the sky.

⁶Do not eat the bread of a stingy man,

and do not crave his delicacies;

⁷for he is keeping track,

inwardly counting the cost.

“Eat and drink,” he says to you,

but his heart is not with you.

⁸You will vomit up what little you have eaten

and waste your pleasant words.

⁹Do not speak to a fool,

for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰Do not move an ancient boundary stone

or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

¹¹for their Redeemer is strong;

He will take up their case against you.

¹²Apply your heart to instruction

and your ears to words of knowledge.

¹³Do not withhold discipline from a child;

although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

¹⁴Strike him with a rod,

and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.

¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise,

my own heart will indeed rejoice.

¹⁶My inmost being will rejoice

when your lips speak what is right.

¹⁷Do not let your heart envy sinners,

but always continue in the fear of the LORD.

¹⁸For surely there is a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁹Listen, my son, and be wise,

and guide your heart on the right course.

²⁰Do not join those who drink too much wine

or gorge themselves on meat.

²¹For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.

²²Listen to your father who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

²³Invest in truth and never sell it —

in wisdom and instruction and understanding.

²⁴The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice,

and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.

²⁵May your father and mother be glad,

and may she who gave you birth rejoice!

²⁶My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes delight in my ways.

²⁷For a prostitute is a deep pit,

and an adulteress is a narrow well.

²⁸Like a robber she lies in wait

and multiplies the faithless among men.

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has contentions? Who has complaints?

Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰Those who linger over wine,

who go to taste mixed drinks.

³¹Do not gaze at wine while it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly.

³²In the end it bites like a snake

and stings like a viper.

³³Your eyes will see strange things,

and your mind will utter perversities.

³⁴You 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?”

— Proverbs 23

(BSB)

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Illustration of Proverbs 23:22

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Illustration of Proverbs 23:19

Illustration of Proverbs 23:19 -- Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path.

Poof! They're Gone

Illustration of Proverbs 23:5

Cast but a glance at riches and they are gone. For they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. - Proverbs 23:5

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Illustration of Proverbs 23:24

Illustration of Proverbs 23:24 -- The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.

Cross References for Proverbs 23

Cross References Provided by Open Bible

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