¹⁶ Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,^(A)
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
¹⁷ who has left the partner of her youth
    and ignored the covenant she made before God.^[a](B)
18 Surely her house leads down to death
    and her paths to the spirits of the dead.^(C)
19 None who go to her return
    or attain the paths of life.^(D)

²⁰ Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.

⁷ Now then, my sons, listen^(G) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
⁸ Keep to a path far from her,^(H)
    do not go near the door of her house,
⁹ lest you lose your honor to others
    and your dignity^[a] to one who is cruel,
¹⁰ lest strangers feast on your wealth
    and your toil enrich the house of another.^(I)
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!^(J)
13 I would not obey my teachers
    or turn my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴ And I was soon in serious trouble^(K)
    in the assembly of God’s people.”^(L)

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^(M) be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.^(N)
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer^(O)—
    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^(P) of the Lord,
    and he examines^(Q) all your paths.^(R)
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;^(S)
    the cords of their sins hold them fast.^(T)
23 For lack of discipline they will die,^(U)
    led astray by their own great folly.^(V)

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.^(B)
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^(C) with another man’s wife;^(D)
    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,^(E)
    though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
³² But a man who commits adultery^(F) has no sense;^(G)
    whoever does so destroys himself.
³³ Blows and disgrace are his lot,
    and his shame will never^(H) be wiped away.

³⁴ For jealousy^(I) arouses a husband’s fury,^(J)
    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.^(K)

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.^(E)
8 He was going down the street near her corner,
    walking along in the direction of her house
⁹ at twilight,^(F) 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^(G) and defiant,
    her feet never stay at home;
¹² now in the street, now in the squares,
    at every corner she lurks.)^(H)
13 She took hold of him^(I) and kissed him
    and with a brazen face she said:^(J)

¹⁴ “Today I fulfilled my vows,
    and I have food from my fellowship offering^(K) 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^(L)
    with myrrh,^(M) aloes and cinnamon.
¹⁸ Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning;
    let’s enjoy ourselves with love!^(N)
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.^(O)
22 All at once he followed her
    like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer^[a] stepping into a noose^[b](P)
23     till an arrow pierces^(Q) his liver,
like a bird darting into a snare,
    little knowing it will cost him his life.^(R)

²⁴ Now then, my sons, listen^(S) to me;
    pay attention to what I say.
²⁵ Do not let your heart turn to her ways
    or stray into her paths.^(T)
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.^(U)