¹⁶ It will rescue you from a forbidden woman,^(A)
from a wayward woman with her flattering talk,^(B)

³ Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey
and her words are^[a] smoother than oil,

²⁰ Why, my son, would you lose yourself
with a forbidden woman
or embrace a wayward woman?^(A)

⁵ She will keep you from a forbidden woman,
a wayward woman with her flattering talk.^(A)

⁶ At the window of my house
I looked through my lattice.^(B)
7 I saw among the inexperienced,^[a]
I noticed among the youths,
a young man lacking sense.
⁸ Crossing the street near her corner,
he strolled down the road to her house
⁹ at twilight, in the evening,
in the dark of the night.^(C)
10 A woman came to meet him
dressed like a prostitute,^(D)
having a hidden agenda.^[b]
11 She is loud and defiant;^(E)
her feet do not stay at home.^(F)
12 Now in the street, now in the squares,^(G)
she lurks at every corner.^(H)
13 She grabs him and kisses him;
she brazenly says^[c] to him,
¹⁴ “I’ve made fellowship offerings;
today I’ve fulfilled my vows.^(I)
15 So I came out to meet you,
to search for you, and I’ve found you.
¹⁶ I’ve spread coverings on my bed^(J)—
richly colored linen from Egypt.^(K)
17 I’ve perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.^(L)
18 Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning.^(M)
Let’s feast on each other’s love!
¹⁹ My husband isn’t home;
he went on a long journey.
²⁰ He took a bag of silver with him
and will come home at the time of the full moon.”
²¹ She seduces him with her persistent pleading;
she lures with her flattering talk.
²² He follows her impulsively
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer bounding toward a trap^[d]
23 until an arrow pierces its^[e] liver,^(N)
like a bird darting into a snare^(O)—
he doesn’t know it will cost him his life.