^14 (A)The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
^(B)He who is abhorred by the Lord will fall there.

¹⁰ And there a woman met him,
With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.
^11 (D)She was loud and rebellious,
^(E)Her feet would not stay at home.
¹² At times she was outside, at times in the open square,
Lurking at every corner.
¹³ So she caught him and kissed him;
With an ^[c]impudent face she said to him:
¹⁴ “I have peace offerings with me;
Today I have paid my vows.
¹⁵ So I came out to meet you,
Diligently to seek your face,
And I have found you.
¹⁶ I have spread my bed with tapestry,
Colored coverings of ^(F)Egyptian linen.
¹⁷ I have perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
¹⁸ Come, let us take our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with love.
¹⁹ For ^[d]my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey;
²⁰ He has taken a bag of money ^[e]with him,
And will come home ^[f]on the appointed day.”

^21 [g]With ^(G)her enticing speech she caused him to yield,
^(H)With her flattering lips she ^[h]seduced him.
²² Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or ^[i]as a fool to the correction of the ^[j]stocks,
²³ Till an arrow struck his liver.
^(I)As a bird hastens to the snare,
He did not know it ^[k]would cost his life.

²⁴ Now therefore, listen to me, my children;
Pay attention to the words of my mouth:
²⁵ Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths;
²⁶ For she has cast down many wounded,
And ^(J)all who were slain by her were strong men.
^27 (K)Her house is the way to ^[l]hell,
Descending to the chambers of death.

⁷ Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
⁸ Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,
⁹ Lest you give your ^[c]honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
¹⁰ Lest aliens be filled with your ^[d]wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;
¹¹ And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,
¹² And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!
¹³ I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!
¹⁴ I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.
¹⁶ Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
^[e]Streams of water in the streets?
¹⁷ Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.
¹⁸ Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with ^(D)the wife of your youth.
^19 (E)As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be ^[f]enraptured with her love.
²⁰ For why should you, my son, be enraptured by ^(F)an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

^21 (G)For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He ^[g]ponders all his paths.
^22 (H)His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
^23 (I)He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.