¹⁶ Wisdom will pluck you from the trap of a seductive woman,
    from the enticing propositions of the adulteress
¹⁷ Who chose to leave the husband of her youth,
    to forget her sacred promises to her God;
¹⁸ For her house is on the road that leads to death,
    and her path goes down to the shadowy pit.
¹⁹ Those who go to her will never return;
    they will never again find their way back to true life.

²⁰ As for you, you should walk like those who are good
    and keep to the paths of those who love justice,

5 My son, stay focused; listen to the wisdom I have gained;
    give attention to what I have learned about life
² So you may be able to make sensible judgments
    and speak with knowledge.
³ You see, the lips of a seductive woman speak honey-sweet words;
    they are smooth like oil and enticing.
⁴ But in the end, she is bitter,
    turning the stomach and rotting the soul;
    she cuts as deep as a double-edged sword.
⁵ She leads you down a path that can only end in death;
    her steps lead eventually to the grave.
⁶ She does not travel the road to life and truth.
    She follows a wandering path—
    a rocky, pit-filled road that twists and turns—and she doesn’t even know it.

⁷ So, my children, listen to me.
    Do not stray from my advice.
⁸ Stay away from her, far away from her path;
    don’t even go near her door
⁹ Unless you are ready to hand over your reputation to someone else,
    unless you want to spend the rest of your years at the mercy of some cruel person.
¹⁰ If you do, strangers will help themselves to your wealth,
    and everything you have worked hard to acquire will end up in someone else’s hands.
¹¹ Your life will end with groanings of remorse, of opportunities missed,
    and your flesh and bones will be eaten up with sorrow, regret for worthless efforts.
¹² Then you’ll say, “Why did I hate being taught?
    Why did I turn my back on correction?
¹³ I disregarded all that my teachers said to me;
    I turned my ear away from my instructors!
¹⁴ Now I am on the edge of complete and utter ruin
    in the midst of the community.”

¹⁵ Here’s what you should do to be satisfied:
    go home and drink in the pleasures of your own cistern, your wife;
    enjoy the sweet, fresh water that has been there all along, flowing from your own well.
¹⁶ Take care. Should your own springs, your body, be freely shared?
    Should your streams of water satisfy anyone in the streets? Absolutely not!
¹⁷ They should be kept pure for you and you alone,
    not for sharing with strangers.
¹⁸ May your fountain, your sex life, be blessed by God;
    may you know true joy with the wife of your youth.
¹⁹ She who is lovely as a deer and graceful as a doe—
    as you drink in her love,
    may her breasts satisfy you at all times.
²⁰ My son, why get caught up in some other woman
    and embrace the breast of a stranger?

²¹ You see, the Eternal sees our ways before Him.
    He watches every move we make and knows where those paths lead.
²² The wicked will be snared by their own wrongdoing.
    Their flaws will tie their own hands, and they will be dragged through life by the cords of their sins.
²³ Because they have no discipline, their spirits die and their bodies will soon follow;
    because they are immensely foolish, they wander lost and confused.

7 My son, live according to what I am telling you;
    guard my instructions as you would a treasure deep within you.
² Stay true to my directives, and they will serve you well;
    make my teachings the lens through which you see life.
³ Bind cords around your fingers to remind you of them;
    meditate on them, and you’ll engrave them upon your heart.
⁴ Say to Lady Wisdom, “My sister”;
    recognize that understanding is your best friend,
⁵ And they will keep you from the arms of another woman—
    protect you from the enchantress who entices men into her bed.

⁶ One day I was at the window of my house,
    looking out through my lattice shutters,
⁷ And there among the usual crowd of the gullible people
    I spotted a naive young man.
⁸ He was going down the street near the corner where she lived—that mysterious and evil woman—
    taking the road that led directly to her house.
⁹ At the end of the day, as night approached
    and darkness crept in,

¹⁰ I saw her! A woman came out to meet him.
    She was dressed for temptation and devious with her affections.
¹¹ Here’s what I know about her: she is loud and obnoxious, a rebel against what is proper and decent.
    She’s always on the move—anxious to get out of the house and
¹² Down the street; at times in the open,
    at others lurking around every corner.
¹³ As I am watching them, she grabs him and kisses him,
    then shamelessly tells him:

¹⁴ The Immoral Woman: It was my turn to offer a peace offering,
        and today I paid my vows,
¹⁵     So now I come to see you.
        I really want to be with you, and what luck! I have found you!
¹⁶     You’ll be impressed. I have decorated my couch,
        laid colorful Egyptian linens over where we will be together,
¹⁷     And perfumed the bed with exotic oils and herbs:
        myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
¹⁸     Come in, and we will feast on love until sunrise;
        we will delight ourselves in our affections.
¹⁹     You don’t need to worry; my husband is long gone by now,
        away from home on a distant journey.
²⁰     He took a bag of money with him,
        so I don’t expect him home until next month.

²¹ It worked! She enticed him with seductive words,
    seduced him with her smooth talk.
²² Right away he followed her home.
    He followed her like a bull being led to the slaughter,
Like a fool^[a] caught in a trap
²³     (that is, until an arrow punctures his liver),
Like a bird flying straight into a net.
    He had no clue his life was at stake; everything was about to change.

²⁴ This is why it is so important that you listen to me, my sons,
    and pay attention to all I am telling you.
²⁵ Do not let your mind wonder about her ways;
    do not lose yourself and drift down her path,
²⁶ For she’s claimed one life after another,
    victim after victim, too many to count.
²⁷ Her house is the gateway to the grave;
    every step toward her is a step toward death’s dark chamber.

¹³ Compared to Wisdom, the Lady Folly is rowdy and loud,
    naive and ignorant.
¹⁴ She sits by the door of her house,
    on a bench at the highest place in the city,

¹⁵ Crooning to passersby
    who hurry straight on to their destinations:

¹⁶ Lady Folly: Whoever is young and gullible, turn in here.
        You are welcome in this place!

Then, she turns to the naive.

¹⁷ Lady Folly: Stolen water tastes so much sweeter!
        Bread secreted away is much more satisfying to eat!

¹⁸ But those who pause to listen to Lady Folly do not know death is the next stop,
    that her guests are walking cadavers.

²⁶ My son, devote yourself to me fully.
    Observe my ways, and follow my directions:
²⁷ Being drawn to a prostitute is like falling down into a deep well,
    and being involved with a wicked woman is like descending into a narrow well.
    You may never get out alive.
²⁸ She waits for you, ready to ambush you like a thief
    and ready to multiply unfaithfulness among men.

³ An adult who loves wisdom and follows its ways gives his parents joy,
    but one who hangs out with women of the street will lose everything.

²⁰ An adulterous woman is so cavalier by nature.
    When she’s done, it is as if she washed after eating
    and then says, “I have done nothing wrong.”