The Words of the Wise — Proverbs 23:19–28

Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And guide thy heart in the way.

Be not among winebibbers, Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:

For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she is old.

Buy the truth, and sell it not; Yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.

Let thy father and thy mother be glad, And let her that bare thee rejoice.

My son, give me thy heart; And let thine eyes delight in my ways.

For a harlot is a deep ditch; And a foreign woman is a narrow pit.

Yea, she lieth in wait as a robber, And increaseth the treacherous among men.