[1] My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding; [2] That you may observe discretion And your lips may reserve knowledge. [3] For the lips of an adulteress drip honey And smoother than oil is her speech; [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 of Sheol. [6] She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it. [7] Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not depart from the words of my mouth. [8] Keep your way far from her And do not go near the door of her house, [9] Or you will give your vigor to others And your years to the cruel one; [10] And strangers will be filled with your strength And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien; [11] And you groan at your final end, When your flesh and your body are consumed; [12] And you say, "How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! [13] "I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors! [14] "I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation." [15] Drink water from your own cistern And fresh water from your own well. [16] Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? [17] Let them be yours alone And not for strangers with you. [18] Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth. [19] As a loving hind and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love. [20] For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress And embrace the bosom of a foreigner? [21] For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He watches all his paths. [22] His own iniquities will capture the wicked, And he will be held with the cords of his sin. [23] He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.
