1 Filho meu, atende a minha sabedoria;
à minha inteligência inclina os ouvidos
2 para que conserves a discrição,
e os teus lábios guardem o conhecimento;
3 porque os lábios da mulher adúltera destilam favos de mel,
e as suas palavras são mais suaves do que o azeite;
4 mas o fim dela é amargoso como o absinto,
agudo, como a espada de dois gumes.
5 Os seus pés descem à morte;
os seus passos conduzem-na ao inferno.
6 Ela não pondera a vereda da vida;
anda errante nos seus caminhos e não o sabe.
7 Agora, pois, filho, dá-me ouvidos
e não te desvies das palavras da minha boca.
8 Afasta o teu caminho da mulher adúltera
e não te aproximes da porta da sua casa;
9 para que não dês a outrem a tua honra,
nem os teus anos, a cruéis;
10 para que dos teus bens não se fartem os estranhos,
e o fruto do teu trabalho não entre em casa alheia;
11 e gemas no fim de tua vida,
quando se consumirem a tua carne e o teu corpo,
12 e digas: Como aborreci o ensino!
E desprezou o meu coração a disciplina!
13 E não escutei a voz dos que me ensinavam,
nem a meus mestres inclinei os ouvidos!
14 Quase que me achei em todo mal
que sucedeu no meio da assembleia e da congregação.
15 Bebe a água da tua própria cisterna
e das correntes do teu poço.
16 Derramar-se-iam por fora as tuas fontes,
e, pelas praças, os ribeiros de águas?
17 Sejam para ti somente
e não para os estranhos contigo.
18 Seja bendito o teu manancial,
e alegra-te com a mulher da tua mocidade,
19 corça de amores e gazela graciosa.
Saciem-te os seus seios em todo o tempo;
e embriaga-te sempre com as suas carícias.
20 Por que, filho meu, andarias cego pela estranha
e abraçarias o peito de outra?
21 Porque os caminhos do homem estão perante os olhos do Senhor,
e ele considera todas as suas veredas.
22 Quanto ao perverso, as suas iniquidades o prenderão,
e com as cordas do seu pecado será detido.
23 Ele morrerá pela falta de disciplina,
e, pela sua muita loucura, perdido, cambaleia.
1 My son, attend unto my wisdom;
Incline thine ear to my understanding:
2 That thou mayest preserve discretion,
And that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop honey,
And her mouth is smoother than oil:
4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
Her steps take hold on Sheol;
6 So that she findeth not the level path of life:
Her ways are unstable, and she knoweth it not.
7 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me,
And depart not from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove thy way far from her,
And come not nigh the door of her house;
9 Lest thou give thine honor unto others,
And thy years unto the cruel;
10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength,
And thy labors be in the house of an alien,
11 And thou mourn at thy latter end,
When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12 And say, How have I hated instruction,
And my heart despised reproof;
13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14 I was well-nigh in all evil
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern,
And running waters out of thine own well.
16 Should thy springs be dispersed abroad,
And streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for thyself alone,
And not for strangers with thee.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed;
And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.
19 As a loving hind and a pleasant doe,
Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times;
And be thou ravished always with her love.
20 For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman,
And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah;
And he maketh level all his paths.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked,
And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction;
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight,
2 that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
6 She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.
7 Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity "to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another.
11 At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!
13 I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God's people."
15 Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer — may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man's wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
21 For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths.
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast.
23 For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.