{"meta":{"source":"Prime Bible","sourceUrl":"https://primebible.com","license":"Public domain (translation text); see citation policy at /citation-policy","organization":"501(c)(3) nonprofit — EIN 41-2531951","canonicalUrl":"https://primebible.com/kjv/proverbs/23","llmTxt":"https://primebible.com/llms.txt","generatedAt":"2026-05-27T03:43:04.539Z"},"reference":{"translation":"KJV","book":"Proverbs","bookSlug":"proverbs","chapter":23,"testament":"OLD"},"navigation":{"previousChapter":22,"nextChapter":24,"totalChapters":31,"totalVerses":35},"verses":[{"verseNumber":1,"text":"When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what <i>is</i> before thee:"},{"verseNumber":2,"text":"And put a knife to thy throat, if thou <i>be</i> a man given to appetite."},{"verseNumber":3,"text":"Be not desirous of his dainties: for they <i>are</i> deceitful meat."},{"verseNumber":4,"text":"Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom."},{"verseNumber":5,"text":"Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for <i>riches</i> certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven."},{"verseNumber":6,"text":"Eat thou not the bread of <i>him that hath</i> an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:"},{"verseNumber":7,"text":"For as he thinketh in his heart, so <i>is</i> he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart <i>is</i> not with thee."},{"verseNumber":8,"text":"The morsel <i>which</i> thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words."},{"verseNumber":9,"text":"Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words."},{"verseNumber":10,"text":"Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:"},{"verseNumber":11,"text":"For their redeemer <i>is</i> mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee."},{"verseNumber":12,"text":"Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge."},{"verseNumber":13,"text":"Withhold not correction from the child: for <i>if</i> thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die."},{"verseNumber":14,"text":"Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell."},{"verseNumber":15,"text":"My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine."},{"verseNumber":16,"text":"Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things."},{"verseNumber":17,"text":"Let not thine heart envy sinners: but <i>be thou</i> in the fear of the LORD all the day long."},{"verseNumber":18,"text":"For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off."},{"verseNumber":19,"text":"Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way."},{"verseNumber":20,"text":"Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:"},{"verseNumber":21,"text":"For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe <i>a man</i> with rags."},{"verseNumber":22,"text":"Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old."},{"verseNumber":23,"text":"Buy the truth, and sell <i>it</i> not; <i>also</i> wisdom, and instruction, and understanding."},{"verseNumber":24,"text":"The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise <i>child</i> shall have joy of him."},{"verseNumber":25,"text":"Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice."},{"verseNumber":26,"text":"My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways."},{"verseNumber":27,"text":"For a whore <i>is</i> a deep ditch; and a strange woman <i>is</i> a narrow pit."},{"verseNumber":28,"text":"She also lieth in wait as <i>for</i> a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men."},{"verseNumber":29,"text":"Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?"},{"verseNumber":30,"text":"They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine."},{"verseNumber":31,"text":"Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, <i>when</i> it moveth itself aright."},{"verseNumber":32,"text":"At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder."},{"verseNumber":33,"text":"Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things."},{"verseNumber":34,"text":"Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast."},{"verseNumber":35,"text":"They have stricken me, <i>shalt thou say, and</i> I was not sick; they have beaten me, <i>and</i> I felt <i>it</i> not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again."}],"citation":{"inline":"Proverbs 23 (KJV)","markdown":"[Proverbs 23](https://primebible.com/kjv/proverbs/23)","sbl":"Prime Bible. *The Bible.* KJV. https://primebible.com/kjv/proverbs/23 (accessed 2026-05-27)."}}