| 1 | My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:
| |
| 2 | That you may maintain discretion, That your lips may preserve knowledge.
| |
| 3 | For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,
| |
| 4 | But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, And as sharp as a two-edged sword.
| |
| 5 | Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.
| |
| 6 | She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn't know it.
| |
| 7 | Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don't depart from the words of my mouth.
| |
| 8 | Remove your way far from her. Don't come near the door of her house,
| |
| 9 | Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one;
| |
| 10 | Lest strangers feast on your wealth, And your labors enrich another man's house.
| |
| 11 | You will groan at your latter end, When your flesh and your body are consumed,
| |
| 12 | And say, "How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof;
| |
| 13 | Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!
| |
| 14 | I have come to the brink of utter ruin, In the midst of the gathered assembly."
| |
| 15 | Drink water out of your own cistern, Running water out of your own well.
| |
| 16 | Should your springs overflow in the streets, Streams of water in the public squares?
| |
| 17 | Let them be for yourself alone, Not for strangers with you.
| |
| 18 | Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
| |
| 19 | A loving hind and a pleasant doe -- Let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.
| |
| 20 | For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?
| |
| 21 | For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh. He examines all his paths.
| |
| 22 | The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
| |
| 23 | He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.
| |