Proverbs 6:20-35

English Standard Version

^20 (A)My son, keep your father's commandment,
    ^(B)and forsake not your mother's teaching.
^21 (C)Bind them on your heart always;
    ^(D)tie them around your neck.
^22 (E)When you walk, they^[a] will lead you;
    ^(F)when you lie down, they will ^(G)watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.
²³ For the commandment is ^(H)a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the ^(I)reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
²⁴ to preserve you from the evil woman,^[b]
    from the smooth tongue of ^(J)the adulteress.^[c]
25 (K)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her ^(L)eyelashes;
²⁶ for ^(M)the price of a prostitute is only ^(N)a loaf of bread,^[d]
    but a married woman^{[e] (O)}hunts down a precious life.
²⁷ Can a man carry ^(P)fire next to his ^(Q)chest
    and his clothes not be burned?
²⁸ Or can one ^(R)walk 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 ^(S)will go unpunished.
³⁰ People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to ^(T)satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
³¹ but ^(U)if he is caught, he will pay ^(V)sevenfold;
    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 ^(W)jealousy makes a man furious,
    and he will not spare when ^(X)he takes revenge.
³⁵ He will accept no compensation;
    he will refuse though you multiply gifts.