¹⁰ Listen, my son,^(M) accept what I say,
    and the years of your life will be many.^(N)
11 I instruct^(O) you in the way of wisdom
    and lead you along straight paths.^(P)
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
    when you run, you will not stumble.^(Q)
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
    guard it well, for it is your life.^(R)
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
    or walk in the way of evildoers.^(S)
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
    turn from it and go on your way.
¹⁶ For they cannot rest until they do evil;^(T)
    they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
¹⁷ They eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence.^(U)

¹⁸ The path of the righteous^(V) is like the morning sun,^(W)
    shining ever brighter till the full light of day.^(X)
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;^(Y)
    they do not know what makes them stumble.^(Z)

²⁰ My son,^(AA) pay attention to what I say;
    turn your ear to my words.^(AB)
21 Do not let them out of your sight,^(AC)
    keep them within your heart;
²² for they are life to those who find them
    and health to one’s whole body.^(AD)
23 Above all else, guard^(AE) your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it.^(AF)
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
    keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
²⁵ Let your eyes^(AG) look straight ahead;
    fix your gaze directly before you.
²⁶ Give careful thought to the^[c] paths for your feet^(AH)
    and be steadfast in all your ways.
²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left;^(AI)
    keep your foot from evil.

⁷ Now then, my sons, listen^(AP) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
⁸ Keep to a path far from her,^(AQ)
    do not go near the door of her house,
⁹ lest you lose your honor to others
    and your dignity^[d] to one who is cruel,
¹⁰ lest strangers feast on your wealth
    and your toil enrich the house of another.^(AR)
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
    when your flesh and body are spent.
¹² You will say, “How I hated discipline!
    How my heart spurned correction!^(AS)
13 I would not obey my teachers
    or turn my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴ And I was soon in serious trouble^(AT)
    in the assembly of God’s people.”^(AU)

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.
¹⁶ Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    your streams of water in the public squares?
¹⁷ Let them be yours alone,
    never to be shared with strangers.
¹⁸ May your fountain^(AV) be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.^(AW)
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer^(AX)—
    may her breasts satisfy you always,
    may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
²⁰ Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
    Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

²¹ For your ways are in full view^(AY) of the Lord,
    and he examines^(AZ) all your paths.^(BA)
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;^(BB)
    the cords of their sins hold them fast.^(BC)
23 For lack of discipline they will die,^(BD)
    led astray by their own great folly.^(BE)

⁶ Go to the ant, you sluggard;^(BN)
    consider its ways and be wise!
⁷ It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
⁸ yet it stores its provisions in summer^(BO)
    and gathers its food at harvest.^(BP)

⁹ How long will you lie there, you sluggard?^(BQ)
    When will you get up from your sleep?
¹⁰ A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest^(BR)—
¹¹ and poverty^(BS) will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

¹² A troublemaker and a villain,
    who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
¹³     who winks maliciously with his eye,^(BT)
    signals with his feet
    and motions with his fingers,^(BU)
14     who plots evil^(BV) with deceit in his heart—
    he always stirs up conflict.^(BW)
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;^(BX)
    he will suddenly^(BY) be destroyed—without remedy.^(BZ)

¹⁶ There are six things the Lord hates,^(CA)
    seven that are detestable to him:
¹⁷         haughty eyes,^(CB)
        a lying tongue,^(CC)
        hands that shed innocent blood,^(CD)
18         a heart that devises wicked schemes,
        feet that are quick to rush into evil,^(CE)
19         a false witness^(CF) who pours out lies^(CG)
        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.^(CH)

²⁵ Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
    or let her captivate you with her eyes.

²⁶ For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
    but another man’s wife preys on your very life.^(CO)
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
    without his clothes being burned?
²⁸ Can a man walk on hot coals
    without his feet being scorched?
²⁹ So is he who sleeps^(CP) with another man’s wife;^(CQ)
    no one who touches her will go unpunished.

³⁰ People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
³¹ Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,^(CR)
    though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
³² But a man who commits adultery^(CS) has no sense;^(CT)
    whoever does so destroys himself.
³³ Blows and disgrace are his lot,
    and his shame will never^(CU) be wiped away.

³⁴ For jealousy^(CV) arouses a husband’s fury,^(CW)
    and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
³⁵ He will not accept any compensation;
    he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.^(CX)

⁶ At the window of my house
    I looked down through the lattice.
⁷ I saw among the simple,
    I noticed among the young men,
    a youth who had no sense.^(DC)
8 He was going down the street near her corner,
    walking along in the direction of her house
⁹ at twilight,^(DD) as the day was fading,
    as the dark of night set in.

¹⁰ Then out came a woman to meet him,
    dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
¹¹ (She is unruly^(DE) and defiant,
    her feet never stay at home;
¹² now in the street, now in the squares,
    at every corner she lurks.)^(DF)
13 She took hold of him^(DG) and kissed him
    and with a brazen face she said:^(DH)

¹⁴ “Today I fulfilled my vows,
    and I have food from my fellowship offering^(DI) at home.
¹⁵ So I came out to meet you;
    I looked for you and have found you!
¹⁶ I have covered my bed
    with colored linens from Egypt.
¹⁷ I have perfumed my bed^(DJ)
    with myrrh,^(DK) aloes and cinnamon.
¹⁸ Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning;
    let’s enjoy ourselves with love!^(DL)
19 My husband is not at home;
    he has gone on a long journey.
²⁰ He took his purse filled with money
    and will not be home till full moon.”

²¹ With persuasive words she led him astray;
    she seduced him with her smooth talk.^(DM)
22 All at once he followed her
    like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer^[f] stepping into a noose^[g](DN)
23     till an arrow pierces^(DO) his liver,
like a bird darting into a snare,
    little knowing it will cost him his life.^(DP)

²⁴ Now then, my sons, listen^(DQ) to me;
    pay attention to what I say.
²⁵ Do not let your heart turn to her ways
    or stray into her paths.^(DR)
26 Many are the victims she has brought down;
    her slain are a mighty throng.
²⁷ Her house is a highway to the grave,
    leading down to the chambers of death.^(DS)