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23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: 2 For thou puttest a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man of a craving desire. 3 Do not long for his savory meats; they are deceitful food. 4 Fatigue thyself not to become rich; because thou hast understanding, forbear. 5 When thou lettest merely thy eyes fly over it, it is no more: for it will ever make itself wings: like an eagle will it fly toward heaven. 6 Eat not the bread of a man with an evil eye, and do not long for his savory meats; 7 For as though there were a division in his soul, so doth he act: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. 8 Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou spit out, and thou hast wasted thy pleasant words. 9 Speak not before the ears of a fool; for he will despise the intelligence of thy words. 10 Remove not the ancient landmark, and into the fields of the fatherless must thou not enter; 11 For their redeemer is strong; he will indeed plead their cause with thee. 12 Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thy ears to the sayings of knowledge. 13 Withhold not from a lad correction; for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die. 14 Thou wilt indeed beat him with the rod; but thou wilt deliver his soul from perdition. 15 My son, If thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. 16 And my reins shall exult when thy lips speak what is equitable. 17 Let not thy heart be envious against sinners; but [remain] in the fear of the lord all the time. 18 For surely there is a future, and thy hope will not be cut off. 19 Hear thou, my son, and become wise, and guide thy heart on the right way. 20 Be not among those that drink wine immoderately, among those that over-indulge in eating flesh: 21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth a man in rags. 22 Hearken unto thy father that hath begotten thee, and despise not thy mother although she be old. 23 Buy the truth and sell it not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. 24 The father of the righteous will be greatly glad, and he that begetteth a wise child will have joy through him. 25 Let [then] thy father and thy mother rejoice, and let her that hath born thee be glad. 26 Give, my son, thy heart unto me, and let thy eyes watch my ways. 27 For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow well. 28 She also lieth in wait like a robber, and she increaseth the treacherous among men. 29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath quarrels? who hath complaints? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry late over the wine: they that come to seek for mixed drink. 31 Do not look on the wine when it looketh red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it glideth down so readily. 32 At the last it will bite like a serpent, and like a basilisk will it sting. 33 Thy eyes will see strange forms, and thy heart will speak perverse things. 34 And thou wilt be like one that lieth down in the heart of the sea, or as he that lieth on the top of a mast. 35 “They smote me, [but] I suffered no pain; they struck me hard, [but] I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will continue to seek it again.”

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