24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And (A)he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25 Let your (B)father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

26 (C)Give me your heart, my son,
And let your eyes [a](D)delight in my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a (E)deep pit,
And a [b](F)strange woman is a narrow well.
28 Certainly she (G)lurks as a robber,
And increases the treacherous among mankind.

29 Who has (H)woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has red eyes?
30 Those who (I)linger long over wine,
Those who go to [c]taste (J)mixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
When it [d]sparkles in the cup,
When it (K)goes down smoothly;
32 In the end it (L)bites like a snake
And stings like a (M)viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things
And your [e]mind will (N)say perverse things.
34 And you will be like one who lies down in the [f]middle of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a [g]mast.
35 “They (O)struck me, but I did not become [h]ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When will I awake?
I will (P)seek [i]another drink.”

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:26 Another reading is observe
  2. Proverbs 23:27 Lit foreign
  3. Proverbs 23:30 Or search out
  4. Proverbs 23:31 Lit gives its eye
  5. Proverbs 23:33 Lit heart
  6. Proverbs 23:34 Lit heart
  7. Proverbs 23:34 Or lookout
  8. Proverbs 23:35 I.e., from the effect of wounds
  9. Proverbs 23:35 Lit it yet again

11 (A)Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
So that I may (B)reply to one who taunts me.

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A man who (A)loves wisdom makes his father glad,
But he who (B)involves himself with prostitutes wastes his wealth.

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