1  ^wMy son, be attentive to my wisdom;

^xincline your ear to my understanding,

2  that you may keep ^ydiscretion,

and your lips may ^zguard knowledge.

3  For the lips of ^aa forbidden¹ woman drip honey,

and her speech² is ^bsmoother than oil,

4  but in the end she is ^cbitter as ^dwormwood,

^esharp as ^fa two-edged sword.

5  Her feet ^ggo down to death;

her steps follow the path to³ Sheol;

6  she ^hdoes not ponder the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

7  And ⁱnow, O 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  lest you give your honor to others

and your years to the merciless,

10  lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your ^jlabors go to the house of a foreigner,

11  and at the end of your life you ^kgroan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

12  and you say, ^l“How I hated discipline,

and my heart ^mdespised reproof!

13  I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

14  ⁿI am at the brink of utter ruin

in the assembled congregation.”

15  Drink ^owater from your own cistern,

flowing water from your own well.

16  Should your ^psprings be scattered abroad,

streams of water ^qin the streets?

17  ^rLet them be for yourself alone,

and not for strangers with you.

18  Let your ^ofountain be blessed,

and ^srejoice in ^tthe wife of your youth,

19  a lovely ^udeer, a graceful doe.

Let her breasts ^vfill you at all times with delight;

be intoxicated⁴ always in her love.

20  Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with ^wa forbidden woman

and embrace the bosom of ^wan adulteress?⁵

21  For ^xa man’s ways are ^ybefore the eyes of the Lord,

and he ^zponders⁶ all his paths.

22  The ^ainiquities of the wicked ^bensnare him,

and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

23  ^cHe dies for lack of discipline,

and because of his great folly he is ^dled astray.

20  ^lMy son, keep your father’s commandment,

^land forsake not your mother’s teaching.

21  ^mBind them on your heart always;

ⁿtie them around your neck.

22  ^oWhen you walk, they¹ will lead you;

^owhen you lie down, they will ^pwatch over you;

and when you awake, they will talk with you.

23  For the commandment is ^qa lamp and the teaching a light,

and the ^rreproofs of discipline are the way of life,

24  to preserve you from the evil woman,²

from the smooth tongue of ^sthe adulteress.³

25  ^tDo not desire her beauty in your heart,

and do not let her capture you with her ^ueyelashes;

26  for ^vthe price of a prostitute is only ^wa loaf of bread,⁴

but a married woman^{5 x}hunts down a precious life.

27  Can a man carry ^yfire next to his ^zchest

and his clothes not be burned?

28  Or can one ^awalk on hot coals

and his feet not be scorched?

29  So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

none who touches her ^bwill go unpunished.

30  People do not despise a thief if he steals

to ^csatisfy his appetite when he is hungry,

31  but ^dif he is caught, he will pay ^esevenfold;

he will give all the goods of his house.

32  He who commits adultery lacks sense;

he who does it destroys himself.

33  He will get wounds and dishonor,

and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

34  For ^fjealousy makes a man furious,

and he will not spare when ^ghe takes revenge.

35  He will accept no compensation;

he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

1  ^hMy son, keep my words

and ^htreasure up my commandments with you;

2  ⁱkeep my commandments and live;

keep my teaching as ^jthe apple of your eye;

3  ^kbind them on your fingers;

^kwrite them on the tablet of your heart.

4  Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

and call insight your intimate friend,

5  to keep you from ^lthe forbidden¹ woman,

from ^lthe adulteress² with her smooth words.

6  For at ^mthe window of my house

I have looked out through my lattice,

7  and I have seen among ⁿthe simple,

I have perceived among the youths,

a young man ^olacking sense,

8  passing along the street ^pnear her corner,

taking the road to her house

9  in ^qthe twilight, in the evening,

at ^rthe time of night and darkness.

10  And behold, the woman meets him,

^sdressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.³

11  She is ^tloud and ^uwayward;

^vher feet do not stay at home;

12  now in the street, now in the market,

and ^wat every corner she ^xlies in wait.

13  She seizes him and kisses him,

and with ^ybold face she says to him,

14  “I had to ^zoffer sacrifices,⁴

and today I have ^apaid my vows;

15  so now I have come out to meet you,

to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.

16  I have spread my couch with ^bcoverings,

colored linens from ^cEgyptian linen;

17  I have perfumed my bed with ^dmyrrh,

aloes, and ^ecinnamon.

18  Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;

let us delight ourselves with love.

19  For ^fmy husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey;

20  he took a bag of money with him;

at full moon he will come home.”

21  With much seductive speech she persuades him;

with ^gher smooth talk she compels him.

22  All at once he follows her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

or as a stag is caught fast⁵

23  till an arrow pierces its liver;

as ^ha bird rushes into a snare;

he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24  And ⁱnow, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

25  Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;

do not stray into her paths,

26  for many a victim has she laid low,

and all her slain are ^ja mighty throng.

27  Her house is ^kthe way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death.

14  The mouth of ^kforbidden¹ women is ^la deep pit;

^mhe with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.

20  This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats and wipes her mouth

and says, “I have done no wrong.”