Beginning
7 Beni (my son), be shomer over my words, and treasure up my mitzvot with thee.
2 Be shomer over my mitzvot, and live, and over my torah as the apple of thine eye.
3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the luach (tablet) of thine lev.
4 Say unto chochmah, Thou art my achot; and call binah (understanding) thy kinsman;
5 That they may be shomer over thee and keep thee from the zarah, from the nokhriyah with her smooth words.
6 For at the chalon (window) of my bais I looked through my lattice,
7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the banim, a na’ar (young man) devoid of lev [of understanding, sense],
8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went on the derech to her bais,
9 In the twilight, at erev, in the black and dark lailah;
10 And, hinei, there met him an isha with the attire of a zonah, and crafty of lev
11 —She is loud and soreret (rebellious, defiant); her raglayim abide not in her bais;
12 Now is she without, now in the rechovot, and lurketh in wait at every pinnah (corner)—
13 So she caught hold of him, and kissed him, and with a brazen ponem said unto him,
14 I have zivkhei shelamim vowed; this yom have I payed my neder.
15 Al ken (therefore) came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with a bedspread of fine linen of Mitzrayim.
17 I have perfumed my mishkav (bed) with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of dodim (loves) until boker; let us delight ourselves with ahavim (loves, pl. of intensity).
19 For the ish (man, i.e., husband) is not b’bais, he is gone a derech merachok (distant journey);
20 He hath taken a bag of kesef with him, and will come back to his bais at the appointed time.
21 By her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with the smoothness of her sfatayim she seduced him.
22 He goeth after her and followeth immediately, as a shor (ox) goeth to tavach (stock yard, slaughter-house), or as the fettered to the musar of the fool;
23 Till a khetz (arrow) strike through his liver; as a tzippor hasteth to the pach (snare), and knoweth not that it is for his nefesh (life).
24 Pay heed unto me now therefore, O ye banim, and attend to the words of my peh (mouth).
25 Let not thine lev turn aside to her drakhim; go not astray in her netivot (trodden paths).
26 For she hath cast down many chalalim (wounded); indeed, many strong men have been slain by her.
27 Her bais is the drakhei Sheol, going down to the chadarim (chambers, rooms) of mavet (death). [T.N. The off-stage character here in chp 7 has been the cuckold. Because of her Ba’al affair, Hashem became the cuckold of Israel even as Hosea became the cuckold of Gomer.]
8 Doth not Chochmah cry out? And Tevunah (understanding) put forth her voice?
2 In the top of high hills, beside the derech (road) in the bais netivot (meeting place of trodden paths, crossroads) nitzavah (she [Lady Wisdom, the lady street preacher] stands).
3 She crieth out at the she’arim (gates), at the entry of the city, at the entrance at the petachim (doorways):
4 Unto you, O ishim, I call out; and my voice is to the Bnei Adam.
5 O ye simple ones, understand armah (prudence); and, ye kesilim, understand in your lev.
6 Hear; for I will speak negidim (noble things, worthy [words]); and the opening of my sfatayim (lips) shall be meisharim (upright, fair things).
7 For my mouth shall speak emes; and resha is an abomination to my sfatayim (lips).
8 All the words of my peh (mouth) are in tzedek; there is nothing crooked or perverse in them.
9 They are all correct to him that discerneth, and yesharim (straight ones) to them that find da’as (knowledge).
10 Receive my musar, and not kesef; and da’as (knowledge) rather than choice gold.
11 For chochmah is tovah (better, more precious) than pearls; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
12 I, Chochmah, dwell with armah (prudence), and find out da’as (knowledge) of mezimot (discretions).
13 The Yirat Hashem is to hate rah; pride, and ga’on (arrogance), and the derech rah, and the perverse peh (mouth), do I hate.
14 Etzah (counsel, advice) is mine, and sound judgment; I am binah; I have gevurah.
15 By me melachim reign, and nobles decree tzedek.
16 By me sarim (princes) rule, and nobles, even all the shofetim of tzedek.
17 I love them that have ahavah for me; and those that seek me shall find me.
18 Osher and kavod are with me; indeed, enduring hon (wealth) and tzedakah.
19 My p’ri is better than gold, indeed, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice kesef.
20 I walk in the orach tzedakah (way of righteousness), in the midst of the netivot (paths) of mishpat,
21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their otzarot.
22 Hashem possessed me in the reshit of His derech, before His works of old.
23 I was set up [to reign] me’olam (from eternity), from the beginning, or ever eretz was.
24 When there were no tehomot, I was brought forth; when there were no springs abounding with mayim.
25 Before the harim were settled, before the geva’ot (hills) was I brought forth;
26 While as yet He had not made eretz, nor the outer places, nor the beginning of the dust of the tevel.
27 When He set in place Shomayim, I was there; when He drew a khoog (circle, horizon) upon the face of the tehom,
28 When He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the tehom,
29 When He gave to the yam His chok (decree, limits), that the mayim should not pass its limits, when He appointed the foundations of the Eretz;
30 Then I was etzel (at the side of, beside [see Yn 1:1]) Him, as an Amon (master craftsman, builder, architect, artist); and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him [Mishle 30:4] ;
31 Rejoicing in the tevel of His Eretz; and my delights were with the Bnei Adam.
32 Now therefore pay heed unto me, O ye banim; for ashrei (blessed, happy) are they that are shomer over my drakhim.
33 Hear musar, and be chacham, and disdain it not.
34 Ashrei is adam that heareth me, watching daily at my dalatot, waiting at the mezuzot of my doors.
35 For whosoever findeth me findeth Chayyim, and shall obtain ratzon Hashem.
36 But he that sinneth against me doth chamas against his own nefesh; all they that hate me love mavet.
9 Chochmah hath built her bais, she hath hewn out her seven ammudim;
2 She hath prepared her meat; she hath mixed her yayin; she hath also set her shulchan.
3 She hath sent forth her na’arot; she calleth from the highest points of the city;
4 Whosoever is simple, let him turn in here; as for him that lacketh lev (a heart of understanding), she saith to him,
5 Come, eat of my lechem, and drink of the yayin which I have mixed [Yn 6:53-54 OJBC].
6 Forsake the simple ways, and live; and go in the derech binah.
7 He that reproveth a letz (mocker) getteth to himself shame, and he that is a mochiach (reprover) of a wicked man getteth himself a blot stain.
8 Reprove not a letz, lest he hate thee; rebuke a chacham, and he will love thee.
9 Give instruction to a chacham, and he will be yet wiser; teach a tzaddik, and he will increase in learning.
10 The Yirat Hashem is the beginning of chochmah, and the da’as Kedoshim (knowledge of the Holy One) is binah (understanding).
11 For by me thy yamim shall be multiplied, and shanot chayyim shall be increased to thee.
12 If thou be chacham, thou shalt be wise for thyself, but if thou mockest, thou alone shalt suffer.
13 Aishes Kesilut (Dame Folly) is clamorous; she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
14 For she sitteth at the petach (doorway) of her bais, on a seat in the high places of the city,
15 To call those passing on the derech (road) who go straight on their way:
16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in here, and as for him that lacketh lev (heart of understanding), she saith to him,
17 Stolen waters are sweet, and lechem eaten in secret is pleasant.
18 But he has no da’as that the dead ones are there; and that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International