^7 (J)Now then, my sons, listen to me
And ^(K)do not depart from the words of my mouth.
^8 (L)Keep your way far from her
And do not go near the ^(M)door of her house,
⁹ Or you will give your vigor to others
And your years to the cruel one;
¹⁰ And strangers will be filled with your strength
And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien;
¹¹ And you groan at your ^[d]final end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
¹² And you say, “How I have ^(N)hated instruction!
And my heart ^(O)spurned reproof!
¹³ “I have not listened to the voice of my ^(P)teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!
¹⁴ “I was almost in utter ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern
And ^[e]fresh water from your own well.
¹⁶ Should your ^(Q)springs be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?
¹⁷ Let them be yours alone
And not for strangers with you.
¹⁸ Let your ^(R)fountain be blessed,
And ^(S)rejoice in the ^(T)wife of your youth.
¹⁹ As a loving ^(U)hind and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be ^[f]exhilarated always with her love.
²⁰ For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an ^[g](V)adulteress
And embrace the bosom of a ^(W)foreigner?
²¹ For the ^(X)ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He ^(Y)watches all his paths.
²² His ^(Z)own iniquities will capture the wicked,
And he will be held with the cords of his sin.
²³ He will ^(AA)die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.

^20 (A)My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not forsake the ^[a]teaching of your mother;
^21 (B)Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
²² When you ^(C)walk about, ^[b]they will guide you;
When you sleep, ^[c]they will watch over you;
And when you awake, ^[d]they will talk to you.
²³ For ^(D)the commandment is a lamp and the ^[e]teaching is light;
And reproofs for discipline are the way of life
²⁴ To ^(E)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the ^[f]adulteress.
^25 (F)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her ^(G)eyelids.
²⁶ For ^(H)on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,
And ^[g]an adulteress ^(I)hunts for the precious life.
²⁷ Can a man ^[h]take fire in his bosom
And his clothes not be burned?
²⁸ Or can a man walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
²⁹ So is the one who ^(J)goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her ^(K)will not ^[i]go unpunished.
^30 [j]Men do not despise a thief if he steals
To ^(L)satisfy ^[k]himself when he is hungry;
³¹ But when he is found, he must ^(M)repay sevenfold;
He must give all the ^[l]substance of his house.
³² The one who commits adultery with a woman is ^(N)lacking ^[m]sense;
He who would ^(O)destroy ^[n]himself does it.
³³ Wounds and disgrace he will find,
And his reproach will not be blotted out.
³⁴ For ^(P)jealousy ^[o]enrages a man,
And he will not spare in the ^(Q)day of vengeance.
³⁵ He will not ^[p]accept any ransom,
Nor will he be ^[q]satisfied though you give many ^[r]gifts.

⁶ For ^(A)at the window of my house
I looked out ^(B)through my lattice,
⁷ And I saw among the ^[c](C)naive,
And discerned among the ^[d]youths
A young man ^(D)lacking ^[e]sense,
⁸ Passing through the street near ^(E)her corner;
And he ^[f]takes the way to ^(F)her house,
⁹ In the ^(G)twilight, in the ^[g]evening,
In the ^[h]middle of the night and in the darkness.
¹⁰ And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
^(H)Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.
¹¹ She is ^(I)boisterous and rebellious,
Her ^(J)feet do not remain at home;
¹² She is now in the streets, now ^(K)in the squares,
And ^(L)lurks by every corner.
¹³ So she seizes him and kisses him
^[i]And with a ^(M)brazen face she says to him:
¹⁴ “^[j]I was due to offer ^(N)peace offerings;
Today I have ^(O)paid my vows.
¹⁵ “Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.
¹⁶ “I have spread my couch with ^(P)coverings,
With colored ^(Q)linens of Egypt.
¹⁷ “I have sprinkled my bed
With ^(R)myrrh, aloes and ^(S)cinnamon.
¹⁸ “Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with caresses.
¹⁹ “For ^[k]my husband is not at home,
He has gone on a long journey;
²⁰ He has taken a ^(T)bag of money ^[l]with him,
At the full moon he will come home.”
²¹ With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her ^[m](U)flattering lips she seduces him.
²² Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as ^[n]one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,
²³ Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a ^(V)bird hastens to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

²⁴ Now therefore, my sons, ^(W)listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
²⁵ Do not let your heart ^(X)turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.
²⁶ For many are the ^[o]victims she has cast down,
And ^(Y)numerous are all her slain.
²⁷ Her ^(Z)house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.

^26 (A)Give me your heart, my son,
And let your eyes ^[a](B)delight in my ways.
²⁷ For a harlot is a ^(C)deep pit
And an ^[b](D)adulterous woman is a narrow well.
²⁸ Surely she ^(E)lurks as a robber,
And increases the ^[c]faithless among men.

²⁰ This is the way of an ^(A)adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wrong.”

²¹ Under three things the earth quakes,
And under four, it cannot bear up:
²² Under a ^(B)slave when he becomes king,
And a fool when he is satisfied with food,
²³ Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.