1 CUANDO te sentares á comer con algún señor, Considera bien lo que estuviere delante de ti;

2 Y pon cuchillo á tu garganta, Si tienes gran apetito.

3 No codicies sus manjares delicados, Porque es pan engañoso

4 No trabajes por ser rico; Pon coto á tu prudencia.

5 ¿Has de poner tus ojos en las riquezas, siendo ningunas? Porque hacerse han alas, Como alas de águila, y volarán al cielo.

6 No comas pan de hombre de mal ojo, Ni codicies sus manjares:

7 Porque cual es su pensamiento en su alma, tal es él. Come y bebe, te dirá; Mas su corazón no está contigo.

8 Vomitarás la parte que tú comiste, Y perderás tus suaves palabras.

9 No hables á oídos del necio; Porque menospreciará la prudencia de tus razones.

10 No traspases el término antiguo, Ni entres en la heredad de los huérfanos:

11 Porque el defensor de ellos es el Fuerte, El cual juzgará la causa de ellos contra ti.

12 Aplica tu corazón á la enseñanza, Y tus oídos á las palabras de sabiduría.

13 No rehuses la corrección del muchacho: Porque si lo hirieres con vara, no morirá.

14 Tú lo herirás con vara, Y librarás su alma del infierno.

15 Hijo mío, si tu corazón fuere sabio, También á mí se me alegrará el corazón;

16 Mis entrañas también se alegrarán, Cuando tus labios hablaren cosas rectas.

17 No tenga tu corazón envidia de los pecadores, Antes persevera en el temor de Jehová todo tiempo:

18 Porque ciertamente hay fin, Y tu esperanza no será cortada.

19 Oye tú, hijo mío, y sé sabio, Y endereza tu corazón al camino.

20 No estés con los bebedores de vino, Ni con los comedores de carne:

21 Porque el bebedor y el comilón empobrecerán: Y el sueño hará vestir vestidos rotos.

22 Oye á tu padre, á aquel que te engendró; Y cuando tu madre envejeciere, no la menosprecies.

23 Compra la verdad, y no la vendas; La sabiduría, la enseñanza, y la inteligencia.

24 Mucho se alegrará el padre del justo: Y el que engendró sabio se gozará con él.

25 Alégrense tu padre y tu madre, Y gócese la que te engendró.

26 Dame, hijo mío, tu corazón, Y miren tus ojos por mis caminos.

27 Porque sima profunda es la ramera, Y pozo angosto la extraña.

28 También ella, como robador, acecha, Y multiplica entre los hombres los prevaricadores.

29 ¿Para quién será el ay? ¿para quién el ay? ¿para quién las rencillas? ¿Para quién las quejas? ¿para quién las heridas en balde? ¿Para quién lo amoratado de los ojos?

30 Para los que se detienen mucho en el vino, Para los que van buscando la mistura.

31 No mires al vino cuando rojea, Cuando resplandece su color en el vaso: Entrase suavemente;

32 Mas al fin como serpiente morderá, Y como basilisco dará dolor:

33 Tus ojos mirarán las extrañas, Y tu corazón hablará perversidades.

34 Y serás como el que yace en medio de la mar, O como el que está en la punta de un mastelero.

35 Y dirás: Hiriéronme, mas no me dolió; Azotáronme, mas no lo sentí; Cuando despertare, aun lo tornaré á buscar.

1 When you take your seat at the feast with a ruler, give thought with care to what is before you;

2 And put a knife to your throat, if you have a strong desire for food.

3 Have no desire for his delicate food, for it is the bread of deceit.

4 Take no care to get wealth; let there be an end to your desire for money.

5 Are your eyes lifted up to it? it is gone: for wealth takes to itself wings, like an eagle in flight up to heaven.

6 Do not take the food of him who has an evil eye, or have any desire for his delicate meat:

7 For as the thoughts of his heart are, so is he: Take food and drink, he says to you; but his heart is not with you.

8 The food which you have taken will come up again, and your pleasing words will be wasted.

9 Say nothing in the hearing of a foolish man, for he will put no value on the wisdom of your words.

10 Do not let the landmark of the widow be moved, and do not go into the fields of those who have no father;

11 For their saviour is strong, and he will take up their cause against you.

12 Give your heart to teaching, and your ears to the words of knowledge.

13 Do not keep back training from the child: for even if you give him blows with the rod, it will not be death to him.

14 Give him blows with the rod, and keep his soul safe from the underworld.

15 My son, if your heart becomes wise, I, even I, will be glad in heart;

16 And my thoughts in me will be full of joy when your lips say right things.

17 Have no envy of sinners in your heart, but keep in the fear of the Lord all through the day;

18 For without doubt there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

19 Give ear, my son, and be wise, guiding your heart in the right way.

20 Do not be among those who give themselves to wine-drinking, or among those who make themselves full with meat:

21 For those who take delight in drink and feasting will come to be in need; and through love of sleep a man will be poorly clothed.

22 Give ear to your father whose child you are, and do not keep honour from your mother when she is old.

23 Get for yourself that which is true, and do not let it go for money; get wisdom and teaching and good sense.

24 The father of the upright man will be glad, and he who has a wise child will have joy because of him.

25 Let your father and your mother be glad, let her who gave you birth have joy.

26 My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes take delight in my ways.

27 For a loose woman is a deep hollow, and a strange woman is a narrow water-hole.

28 Yes, she is waiting secretly like a beast for its food, and deceit by her is increased among men.

29 Who says, Oh! who says, Ah! who has violent arguments, who has grief, who has wounds without cause, whose eyes are dark?

30 Those who are seated late over the wine: those who go looking for mixed wine.

31 Keep your eyes from looking on the wine when it is red, when its colour is bright in the cup, when it goes smoothly down:

32 In the end, its bite is like that of a snake, its wound like the wound of a poison-snake.

33 Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say twisted things.

34 Yes, you will be like him who takes his rest on the sea, or on the top of a sail-support.

35 They have overcome me, you will say, and I have no pain; they gave me blows without my feeling them: when will I be awake from my wine? I will go after it again.