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

When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider who and what are before you;

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

For you will put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to desire.

3 N o codicies sus manjares delicados, Porque es pan engañoso

Be not desirous of his dainties, for it is deceitful food.

4 N o trabajes por ser rico; Pon coto á tu prudencia.

Weary not yourself to be rich; cease from your own wisdom.

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

Will you set your eyes upon wealth, when it is gone? For riches certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

6 N o comas pan de hombre de mal ojo, Ni codicies sus manjares:

Eat not the bread of him who has a hard, grudging, and envious eye, neither desire his dainty foods;

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

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. As one who reckons, he says to you, eat and drink, yet his heart is not with you.

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

The morsel which you have eaten you will vomit up, and your complimentary words will be wasted.

9 N o hables á oídos del necio; Porque menospreciará la prudencia de tus razones.

Speak not in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the Wisdom of your words.

10 N o traspases el término antiguo, Ni entres en la heredad de los huérfanos:

Remove not the ancient landmark and enter not into the fields of the fatherless,

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

For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you.

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

Apply your mind to instruction and correction and your ears to words of knowledge.

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

Withhold not discipline from the child; for if you strike and punish him with the rod, he will not die.

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

You shall whip him with the rod and deliver his life from Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead).

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

My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will be glad, even mine;

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

Yes, my heart will rejoice when your lips speak right things.

17 N o tenga tu corazón envidia de los pecadores, Antes persevera en el temor de Jehová todo tiempo:

Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord all the day long.

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

For surely there is a latter end, and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.

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

Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your mind in the way.

20 N o estés con los bebedores de vino, Ni con los comedores de carne:

Do not associate with winebibbers; be not among them nor among gluttonous eaters of meat,

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

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

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

Hearken to your father, who begot you, and despise not your mother when she is old.

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

Buy the truth and sell it not; not only that, but also get discernment and judgment, instruction and understanding.

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

The father of the righteous (the upright, in right standing with God) shall greatly rejoice, and he who becomes the father of a wise child shall have joy in him.

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

Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her who bore you rejoice.

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

My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe and delight in my ways,

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

For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a loose woman is a narrow pit.

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

She also lies in wait as a robber or as one waits for prey, and she increases the treacherous among men.

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?

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness and dimness of eyes?

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

Those who tarry long at the wine, those who go to seek and try mixed wine.

31 N o mires al vino cuando rojea, Cuando resplandece su color en el vaso: Entrase suavemente;

Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the wineglass, when it goes down smoothly.

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

At the last it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.

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

your eyes will behold strange things and your mind will utter things turned the wrong way.

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

Yes, you will be as he who lies down in the midst of the sea, and as he who lies upon the top of a mast.

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

You will say, They struck me, but I was not hurt! They beat me, but I did not feel it! When shall I awake? I will crave and seek more wine again.