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! to my wisdom give attention, To mine understanding incline thine ear,
2 To observe thoughtfulness, And knowledge do thy lips keep.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And smoother than oil [is] her mouth,
4 And her latter end [is] bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a sword [with] mouths.
5 Her feet are going down to death, Sheol do her steps take hold of.
6 The path of life -- lest thou ponder, Moved have her paths -- thou knowest not.
7 And now, ye sons, hearken to me, And turn not from sayings of my mouth.
8 Keep far from off her thy way, And come not near unto the opening of her house,
9 Lest thou give to others thy honour, And thy years to the fierce,
10 Lest strangers be filled [with] thy power, And thy labours in the house of a stranger,
11 And thou hast howled in thy latter end, In the consumption of thy flesh and thy food,
12 And hast said, `How have I hated instruction, And reproof hath my heart despised,
13 And I have not hearkened to the voice of my directors, And to my teachers have not inclined mine ear.
14 As a little thing I have been all evil, In the midst of an assembly and a company.
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, Even flowing ones out of thine own well.
16 Let thy fountains be scattered abroad, In broad places rivulets of waters.
17 Let them be to thee for thyself, And not to strangers with thee.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed, And rejoice because of the wife of thy youth,
19 A hind of loves, and a roe of grace! Let her loves satisfy thee at all times, In her love magnify thyself continually.
20 And why dost thou magnify thyself, My son, with a stranger? And embrace the bosom of a strange woman?
21 For over-against the eyes of Jehovah are the ways of each, And all his paths He is pondering.
22 His own iniquities do capture the wicked, And with the ropes of his sin he is holden.
23 He dieth without instruction, And in the abundance of his folly magnifieth himself!