1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you;
2 And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
For they are deceptive food.
4 Do not overwork to be rich;
Because of your own understanding, cease!
5 Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
6 Do not eat the bread of a miser,
Nor desire his delicacies;
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,
And waste your pleasant words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Do not remove the ancient landmark,
Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;
11 For their Redeemer is mighty;
He will plead their cause against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction,
And your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold correction from a child,
For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
14 You shall beat him with a rod,
And deliver his soul from hell.
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;
16 Yes, my inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak right things.
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day;
18 For surely there is a hereafter,
And your hope will not be cut off.
Much of Proverbs is written by a King(s) to his son, so much of it must be understood in light of passing on the torch, so to speak, to the next ruler/law giver. No wonder there is so much that pertains to seeking knowledge, wise council, and justice.
ReplyDeleteWith this in mind, it seems as though the majority of Proverbs is outdated and irrelevant to our lives today, however, I hope it's obvious that many of the issues the writer takes up are timeless: parenting; discipline; infidelity; wealth; power; knowledge; wise council; immigration; justice; work ethic; integrity; and worship to name a few. Thus, my challenge to the reader, as we finish up the book of Proverbs in the next couple of weeks, is to really examine what is being said and to relate it to your own home, workplace, and community as well as to the current government and world events. This may involve a bit of research on the readers part but in so doing, this book will have much more value and contain far more application than it would otherwise.