[1] Listen to me, my son! I know what I am saying; listen! [2] Watch yourself, lest you be indiscreet and betray some vital information. [3] For the lips of a prostitute are as sweet as honey, and smooth flattery is her stock-in-trade. [4] But afterwards only a bitter conscience is left to you, sharp as a double-edged sword. [5] She leads you down to death and hell. [6] For she does not know the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn't even realize where it leads. [7] Young men, listen to me, and never forget what I'm about to say: [8] Run from her! Don't go near her house, [9] lest you fall to her temptation and lose your honor, and give the remainder of your life to the cruel and merciless; [10] lest strangers obtain your wealth, and you become a slave of foreigners. [11] Lest afterwards you groan in anguish and in shame when syphilis consumes your body, [12] and you say, "Oh, if only I had listened! If only I had not demanded my own way! [13] Oh, why wouldn't I take advice? Why was I so stupid? [14] For now I must face public disgrace." [15] Drink from your own well, my son-be faithful and true to your wife. [16] Why should you beget children with women of the street? [17] Why share your children with those outside your home? [18] Be happy, yes, rejoice in the wife of your youth. [19] Let her breasts and tender embrace satisfy you. Let her love alone fill you with delight. [20] Why delight yourself with prostitutes, embracing what isn't yours? [21] For God is closely watching you, and he weighs carefully everything you do. [22] The wicked man is doomed by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. [23] He shall die because he will not listen to the truth; he has let himself be led away into incredible folly.
