Proverbs 5-8

New American Standard Bible 1995

^7 (N)Now then, my sons, listen to me
And ^(O)do not depart from the words of my mouth.
^8 (P)Keep your way far from her
And do not go near the ^(Q)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 ^(R)hated instruction!
And my heart ^(S)spurned reproof!
¹³ “I have not listened to the voice of my ^(T)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 ^(U)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 ^(V)fountain be blessed,
And ^(W)rejoice in the ^(X)wife of your youth.
¹⁹ As a loving ^(Y)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](Z)adulteress
And embrace the bosom of a ^(AA)foreigner?
²¹ For the ^(AB)ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He ^(AC)watches all his paths.
²² His ^(AD)own iniquities will capture the wicked,
And he will be held with the cords of his sin.
²³ He will ^(AE)die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.

⁶ Go to the ^(AI)ant, O ^(AJ)sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,
⁷ Which, having ^(AK)no chief,
Officer or ruler,
⁸ Prepares her food ^(AL)in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.
⁹ How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
¹⁰ “^(AM)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to ^[j]rest”—
^11 (AN)Your poverty will come in like a ^[k]vagabond
And your need like ^[l]an armed man.

¹² A ^(AO)worthless person, a wicked man,
Is the one who walks with a ^(AP)perverse mouth,
¹³ Who ^(AQ)winks with his eyes, who ^[m]signals with his feet,
Who ^[n]points with his fingers;
¹⁴ Who with ^(AR)perversity in his heart continually ^(AS)devises evil,
Who ^[o](AT)spreads strife.
¹⁵ Therefore ^(AU)his calamity will come suddenly;
^(AV)Instantly he will be broken and there will be ^(AW)no healing.

¹⁶ There are six things which the Lord hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination ^[p]to Him:
^17 (AX)Haughty eyes, a ^(AY)lying tongue,
And hands that ^(AZ)shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ A heart that devises ^(BA)wicked plans,
^(BB)Feet that run rapidly to evil,
¹⁹ A ^(BC)false witness who utters lies,
And one who ^[q](BD)spreads strife among brothers.

^20 (BE)My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not forsake the ^[r]teaching of your mother;
^21 (BF)Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
²² When you ^(BG)walk about, ^[s]they will guide you;
When you sleep, ^[t]they will watch over you;
And when you awake, ^[u]they will talk to you.
²³ For ^(BH)the commandment is a lamp and the ^[v]teaching is light;
And reproofs for discipline are the way of life
²⁴ To ^(BI)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the ^[w]adulteress.
^25 (BJ)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her ^(BK)eyelids.
²⁶ For ^(BL)on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,
And ^[x]an adulteress ^(BM)hunts for the precious life.
²⁷ Can a man ^[y]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 ^(BN)goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her ^(BO)will not ^[z]go unpunished.
^30 [aa]Men do not despise a thief if he steals
To ^(BP)satisfy ^[ab]himself when he is hungry;
³¹ But when he is found, he must ^(BQ)repay sevenfold;
He must give all the ^[ac]substance of his house.
³² The one who commits adultery with a woman is ^(BR)lacking ^[ad]sense;
He who would ^(BS)destroy ^[ae]himself does it.
³³ Wounds and disgrace he will find,
And his reproach will not be blotted out.
³⁴ For ^(BT)jealousy ^[af]enrages a man,
And he will not spare in the ^(BU)day of vengeance.
³⁵ He will not ^[ag]accept any ransom,
Nor will he be ^[ah]satisfied though you give many ^[ai]gifts.

⁶ For ^(CA)at the window of my house
I looked out ^(CB)through my lattice,
⁷ And I saw among the ^[an](CC)naive,
And discerned among the ^[ao]youths
A young man ^(CD)lacking ^[ap]sense,
⁸ Passing through the street near ^(CE)her corner;
And he ^[aq]takes the way to ^(CF)her house,
⁹ In the ^(CG)twilight, in the ^[ar]evening,
In the ^[as]middle of the night and in the darkness.
¹⁰ And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
^(CH)Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.
¹¹ She is ^(CI)boisterous and rebellious,
Her ^(CJ)feet do not remain at home;
¹² She is now in the streets, now ^(CK)in the squares,
And ^(CL)lurks by every corner.
¹³ So she seizes him and kisses him
^[at]And with a ^(CM)brazen face she says to him:
¹⁴ “^[au]I was due to offer ^(CN)peace offerings;
Today I have ^(CO)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 ^(CP)coverings,
With colored ^(CQ)linens of Egypt.
¹⁷ “I have sprinkled my bed
With ^(CR)myrrh, aloes and ^(CS)cinnamon.
¹⁸ “Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with caresses.
¹⁹ “For ^[av]my husband is not at home,
He has gone on a long journey;
²⁰ He has taken a ^(CT)bag of money ^[aw]with him,
At the full moon he will come home.”
²¹ With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her ^[ax](CU)flattering lips she seduces him.
²² Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as ^[ay]one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,
²³ Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a ^(CV)bird hastens to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

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

¹² “I, wisdom, ^(DO)dwell with prudence,
And I find ^(DP)knowledge and discretion.
¹³ “The ^(DQ)fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
^(DR)Pride and arrogance and ^(DS)the evil way
And the ^(DT)perverted mouth, I hate.
¹⁴ “^(DU)Counsel is mine and ^(DV)sound wisdom;
I am understanding, ^(DW)power is mine.
¹⁵ “By me ^(DX)kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
¹⁶ “By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
¹⁷ “I ^(DY)love those who love me;
And ^(DZ)those who diligently seek me will find me.
¹⁸ “^(EA)Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring ^(EB)wealth and righteousness.
¹⁹ “My fruit is ^(EC)better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than ^(ED)choicest silver.
²⁰ “I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
²¹ To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may ^(EE)fill their treasuries.

²² “The Lord possessed me ^(EF)at the beginning of His way,
Before His works ^[be]of old.
²³ “From everlasting I was ^[bf](EG)established,
From the beginning, ^(EH)from the earliest times of the earth.
²⁴ “When there were no ^(EI)depths I was ^[bg]brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
²⁵ “^(EJ)Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was ^[bh]brought forth;
²⁶ While He had not yet made the earth and the ^[bi]fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
²⁷ “When He ^(EK)established the heavens, I was there,
When ^(EL)He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
²⁸ When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became ^[bj]fixed,
²⁹ When ^(EM)He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not transgress His ^[bk]command,
When He marked out ^(EN)the foundations of the earth;
³⁰ Then ^(EO)I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was daily His delight,
^[bl]Rejoicing always before Him,
^31 [bm]Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having ^(EP)my delight in the sons of men.

³² “Now therefore, O sons, ^(EQ)listen to me,
For ^(ER)blessed are they who keep my ways.
³³ “^(ES)Heed instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
³⁴ “^(ET)Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.
³⁵ “For ^(EU)he who finds me finds life
And ^(EV)obtains favor from the Lord.
³⁶ “But he who ^[bn]sins against me ^(EW)injures himself;
All those who ^(EX)hate me ^(EY)love death.”