⁷ Now, my sons, listen to me,
    and don’t ignore what I say.
⁸ Stay away from such a woman.
    Don’t even go near the door of her house,
⁹ or you will give your riches to others,
    and the best years of your life will be given to someone cruel.
¹⁰ Strangers will enjoy your wealth,
    and what you worked so hard for will go to someone else.
¹¹ You will groan at the end of your life
    when your health is gone.
¹² Then you will say, “I hated being told what to do!
    I would not listen to correction!
¹³ I would not listen to my teachers
    or pay attention to my instructors.
¹⁴ I came close to being completely ruined
    in front of a whole group of people.”

¹⁵ Be faithful to your own wife,
    just as you drink water from your own well.
¹⁶ Don’t pour your water in the streets;
    don’t give your love to just any woman.
¹⁷ These things are yours alone
    and shouldn’t be shared with strangers.
¹⁸ Be happy with the wife you married when you were young.
    She gives you joy, as your fountain gives you water.
¹⁹ She is as lovely and graceful as a deer.
    Let her love always make you happy;
    let her love always hold you captive.
²⁰ My son, don’t be held captive by a woman who takes part in adultery.
    Don’t fondle a woman who is not your wife.

²¹ The Lord sees everything you do,
    and he watches where you go.
²² An evil man will be caught in his wicked ways;
    the ropes of his sins will tie him up.
²³ He will die because he does not control himself,
    and he will be held captive by his foolishness.