⁶ Go to the ^(D)ant, you ^[b](E)lazy one,
Observe its ways and be wise,
⁷ Which, having ^(F)no chief,
Officer, or ruler,
⁸ Prepares its food ^(G)in the summer
And gathers its provision in the harvest.
⁹ How long will you lie down, you ^[c]lazy one?
When will you arise from your sleep?
¹⁰ “^(H)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to ^[d]rest,”
^11 (I)Then your poverty will come in like a ^[e]drifter,
And your need like ^[f]an armed man.

¹² A ^(J)worthless person, a wicked man,
Is one who walks with a ^(K)perverse mouth,
¹³ Who ^(L)winks with his eyes, who ^[g]signals with his feet,
Who ^[h]points with his fingers;
¹⁴ Who, with ^(M)perversion in his heart, continually ^(N)devises evil,
Who ^[i](O)spreads strife.
¹⁵ Therefore ^(P)his disaster will come suddenly;
^(Q)Instantly he will be broken and there will be ^(R)no healing.

¹⁶ There are six things that the Lord hates,
Seven that are an abomination ^[j]to Him:
^17 (S)Haughty eyes, a ^(T)lying tongue,
And hands that ^(U)shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ A heart that devises ^(V)wicked plans,
^(W)Feet that run rapidly to evil,
¹⁹ A ^(X)false witness who declares lies,
And one who ^[k](Y)spreads strife among brothers.

^20 (Z)My son, comply with the commandment of your father,
And do not ignore the ^[l]teaching of your mother;
^21 (AA)Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
²² When you ^(AB)walk, ^[m]they will guide you;
When you sleep, ^[n]they will watch over you;
And when you awake, ^[o]they will talk to you.
²³ For ^(AC)the commandment is a lamp and the ^[p]teaching is light;
And rebukes for discipline are the way of life
²⁴ To ^(AD)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.
^25 (AE)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her ^(AF)eyelids.
²⁶ For ^(AG)the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread,
And ^[q]an adulteress ^(AH)hunts for a precious life.
²⁷ Can anyone take fire in his lap
And his clothes not be burned?
²⁸ Or can a person walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
²⁹ So is the one who ^(AI)goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her ^(AJ)will not ^[r]go unpunished.
³⁰ People do not despise a thief if he steals
To ^(AK)satisfy ^[s]himself when he is hungry;
³¹ But when he is found, he must ^(AL)repay seven times as much;
He must give up all the property of his house.
³² One who commits adultery with a woman is ^(AM)lacking ^[t]sense;
He who would ^(AN)destroy ^[u]himself commits it.
³³ He will find wounds and disgrace,
And his shame will not be removed.
³⁴ For ^(AO)jealousy ^[v]enrages a man,
And he will not have compassion on the ^(AP)day of vengeance.
³⁵ He will not ^[w]accept any settlement,
Nor will he be ^[x]satisfied though you make it a large gift.

⁶ For ^(AV)at the window of my house
I looked out ^(AW)through my lattice,
⁷ And I saw among the ^(AX)naive,
And discerned among the ^[ab]youths
A young man ^(AY)lacking ^[ac]sense,
⁸ Passing through the street near ^(AZ)her corner;
And he walks along the way to ^(BA)her house,
⁹ In the ^(BB)twilight, in the ^[ad]evening,
In the ^[ae]middle of the night and the darkness.
¹⁰ And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
^(BC)Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart.
¹¹ She is ^(BD)boisterous and rebellious,
Her ^(BE)feet do not remain at home;
¹² She is now in the streets, now ^(BF)in the public squares,
And ^(BG)lurks by every corner.
¹³ So she seizes him and kisses him,
^[af]And with a ^(BH)brazen face she says to him:
¹⁴ “^[ag]I was due to offer ^(BI)peace offerings;
Today I have ^(BJ)paid my vows.
¹⁵ Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.
¹⁶ I have spread my couch with ^(BK)coverings,
With colored ^(BL)linens of Egypt.
¹⁷ I have sprinkled my bed
With ^(BM)myrrh, aloes, and ^(BN)cinnamon.
¹⁸ Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning;
Let’s delight ourselves with caresses.
¹⁹ For ^[ah]my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey.
²⁰ He has taken a ^(BO)bag of money ^[ai]with him.
At the full moon he will come home.”
²¹ With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her ^[aj](BP)flattering lips she seduces him.
²² Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as ^[ak]one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool,
²³ Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a ^(BQ)bird hurries to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

²⁴ Now therefore, my sons, ^(BR)listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
²⁵ Do not let your heart ^(BS)turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.
²⁶ For many are the ^[al]victims she has brought to ruin,
And ^(BT)numerous are all those slaughtered by her.
²⁷ Her ^(BU)house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.