1 M y son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding:

My son, listen to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding.

2 T hat thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge.

So you may know what is good thinking, and your lips may keep much learning.

3 F or the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil:

For the lips of a strange woman are as sweet as honey. Her talk is as smooth as oil.

4 B ut in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

But in the end she is as bitter tasting as wormwood, and as sharp as a sword that cuts both ways.

5 H er feet go down to death; Her steps take hold on Sheol;

Her feet go down to death. Her steps take hold of hell.

6 S o that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, and she knoweth it not.

She does not think about the path of life. Her ways go this way and that, and she does not know it.

7 N ow therefore, my sons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth.

Now then, my sons, listen to me. Do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

8 R emove thy way far from her, And come not nigh the door of her house;

Keep far away from her. Do not go near the door of her house.

9 L est thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;

If you do, you would give your strength to others, and your years to those without loving-kindness.

10 L est strangers be filled with thy strength, And thy labors be in the house of an alien,

Strangers would be filled with your strength, and the fruits of your work would go to a strange house.

11 A nd thou mourn at thy latter end, When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

You would cry inside yourself when your end comes, when your flesh and body are wasted away.

12 A nd say, How have I hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof;

You would say, “How I have hated teaching! My heart hated strong words!

13 N either have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

I have not listened to the voice of my teachers. I have not turned my ear to those who would teach me.

14 I was well-nigh in all evil In the midst of the assembly and congregation.

Now I have a bad name in the meeting place of the people.”

15 D rink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well.

Drink water from your own pool, flowing water from your own well.

16 S hould thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets?

Should the waters from your well flow away, rivers of water in the streets?

17 L et them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.

Let them be yours alone, and not for strangers with you.

18 L et thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.

Let your well be honored, and be happy with the wife you married when you were young.

19 A s a loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love.

Let her be like a loving, female deer. Let her breasts please you at all times. Be filled with great joy always because of her love.

20 F or why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

My son, why should you be carried away with a sinful woman and fall into the arms of a strange woman?

21 F or the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah; And he maketh level all his paths.

For the ways of a man are seen by the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths.

22 H is own iniquities shall take the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.

His own sins will trap the sinful. He will be held with the ropes of his sin.

23 H e shall die for lack of instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

He will die for want of teaching, and will go the wrong way because of the greatness of his foolish ways.