Proverbs 23:1-35 Tips About Eating, Wisdom & the Rich

Tips About Eating, Wisdom & the Rich

Proverbs 23:1-35                                   Proverbs [in Smaller Chunks]

When you [sit] to eat with a ruler, [thoroughly] consider what is [set] before you; & put a knife to your throat, if you're a man given to [a large] appetite. [Don’t] be desirous of his [delicacies:] for they are deceitful meat, [a.k.a. food.]

[Don’t] cease from your own wisdom. [Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, & [don't] lean, [a.k.a. depend, upon] your own understanding.]

[Don’t labor, [a.k.a. work], to be rich. [Will] you set your eyes on that which [doesn’t exist?] For riches certainly make themselves wings; & they fly away [like] an eagle toward heaven.  [I Timothy 6:10-11 For the love of money is the root of all evil. While some [have] coveted after [it,] they have [gone astray] from the faith, & pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things, & follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, & [humility.]

[Don’t] eat the bread of him, [who has] an evil eye, & neither desire his dainty [foods.] For he is [like] [what] he [thinks] in his heart. He [says] to you, Eat & drink, but his heart isn’t with you. You [shall] vomit up the morsel you [have] eaten, & lose your [pleasant] words.

[Don’t] speak in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of your words. [Matthew 7:6 [Don't] give that which is holy to the dogs, & you neither cast your pearls [in front of] swine, [a.k.a. pigs,] lest they trample them under their feet, & turn again, & [rip] you.]

[Don’t] remove old [boundary] [landmarks,] & [don’t] enter into the fields of the fatherless: for their Redeemer is mighty. He shall plead their [case] with you. [Isaiah 1:23-24 Your princes are rebellious, & companions of thieves. Everyone [loves] gifts, & [follows] after rewards, [a.k.a. bribes.] They [don't] judge the fatherless, & neither [does] the [case] of the widow come to them. Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, [says,] Ah, I will ease [Myself] of [My] adversaries, & avenge [Myself] of [My] enemies.]

Apply your heart to instruction, & your ears to the words of knowledge. [Don’t] withhold correction from the child: for if you [beat] him with the rod, he shall not die. You [shall] beat him with the rod, & shall deliver his soul from hell. [Proverbs 13:24 He [who spares] his rod, [hates,] his son; but he [who loves] him [chastises] him [before it's too late.]

My son, if your heart [is] wise, my heart, even my [own] heart shall rejoice. [Yes,] my [heart strings] shall rejoice, when your lips speak [righteous] things. [Don’t] let your heart envy sinners: but you be in fear, [a.k.a. respect,] of the Lord [God] all day long. [Jeremiah 12:1 O Lord, You [are] righteous. When I plead with You; [still] let me talk with You [about] Your judgments. [Why does] the way of the wicked prosper? [For what reason,] are all [those who behave] very treacherously, happy?]

For surely there is [a hereafter,] & your [hope] shall not be cut off. [John 3:15-17 That [whoever believes] in Him, should not perish, but have Eternal Life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that [whoever believes] in Him, should not perish, but have Everlasting Life. For God [didn’t send] His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world might be saved through Him.]

My son, hear, & be wise, & guide your heart in the [ways] [of the Lord God.] [Don’t] be among: [alcoholics, & gluttonous] eaters of [meat:] for the drunkard, & the glutton shall come to poverty, & drowsiness, [a.k.a. laziness,] shall clothe a man with rags. [Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, & strong drink [causes] raging; & [whoever] is deceived [by it,] is not wise.]

[Listen] to your father, [who begot] you, & [don’t] despise your mother when she is old. Buy [what is] the Truth. . [John 14:6 Jesus said to [Thomas,] I Am the Way, the Truth, & the Life. No man [comes] to the Father, [except] by Me.]

Also [buy:] wisdom, instruction & understanding, & [don’t] sell [them.] Matthew 13:44 Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is [similar to] treasure [hidden] in a field. [With which,] when a man [has] found [it,] he [hides] [it,] & for the joy [of it,] [he] [goes] & [sells] all that he [has,] & [buys] that field.]

The father of the righteous shall rejoice greatly, & he, [who fathers] a wise child shall [delight in] him. Your father & your mother shall be glad, & she, [who bore you, a.k.a. gave birth to you,] shall rejoice. [Proverbs 10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son [makes] a glad father; but a foolish son, is the [grief] of his mother.]

Give me your heart, my son, & let your eyes observe my ways. For [an unfaithful harlot] is a deep ditch, & a strange woman, [a.k.a. seductress,] is a narrow pit. [Proverbs 2:18-22 For her house [inclines, a.k.a. turns away,] [leading] unto death, & her paths [lead] to the dead. None return again, [who] go to her, & neither [do] they take hold of the paths [that lead to] life. Keep the paths of the righteous, [so] that you [may] walk, [a.k.a. follow,] in the [path] of good men. For the upright shall [live] in the land, & the perfect, [a.k.a. without blame,] shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, & the [sinners] shall be [uprooted] out of it.]

Also, she [lies] in wait, [like] for prey, & she [increases] the [unfaithful] men. [Proverbs 7:11-12 (She is loud, & stubborn. Her feet [don't remain] in her house. Now, she is [outside,] & now in the streets, & [lies] in wait, at every corner.)]

Who [has sadness?] Who [has] sorrow? Who [has disputes?] Who [chatters senselessly?] Who [has] wounds without [a reason?] Who [has red] eyes? [It is] [those who stay] long [with] wine; & [those who] go to seek mixed [drinks.] [Isaiah 5:11 Woe to [those who] rise up early in the morning, [so] that they may follow strong drink; & [continues] until night, [until] the wine [enflames] them.]

[Don’t] you look upon the wine when it is red, when it [sparkles] in the cup, when it [moves around.] At the [end] it [bites] like a [snake] & stings like a [cobra.] Your eyes shall [see] strange, [a.k.a. foreign,] women, & your heart shall utter [deceitful] things.

[Yes,] you [shall] be [tipsy,] [like] he [who lies] down in the midst of the sea, or he [who lies] upon the top of [the] mast. You [shall] say, They have [struck] me, & I wasn’t [even] [hurt.] They have beaten me, & I [didn’t feel] it. When shall I [wake up?] I shall [still] seek [alcohol] again.