1: My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding: 2: That you may maintain discretion, That your lips may preserve knowledge. 3: For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil, 4: But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, And as sharp as a two-edged sword. 5: Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol. 6: She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn't know it. 7: Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don't depart from the words of my mouth. 8: Remove your way far from her. Don't come near the door of her house, 9: Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one; 10: Lest strangers feast on your wealth, And your labors enrich another man's house. 11: You will groan at your latter end, When your flesh and your body are consumed, 12: And say, "How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof; 13: Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor turned my ear to those who instructed me! 14: I have come to the brink of utter ruin, In the midst of the gathered assembly." 15: Drink water out of your own cistern, Running water out of your own well. 16: Should your springs overflow in the streets, Streams of water in the public squares? 17: Let them be for yourself alone, Not for strangers with you. 18: Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19: A loving hind and a pleasant doe -- Let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love. 20: For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another? 21: For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh. He examines all his paths. 22: The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly. 23: He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.
