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

My son, be attentive to my Wisdom, and incline your ear to my understanding,

2 t hat thou mayest keep reflection, and that thy lips may preserve knowledge.

That you may exercise proper discrimination and discretion and your lips may guard and keep knowledge and the wise answer.

3 F or the lips of the strange woman drop honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil;

For the lips of a loose woman drip honey as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil;

4 b ut her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged and devouring sword.

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 Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead).

6 L est she should ponder the path of life, her ways wander, she knoweth not.

She loses sight of and walks not in the path of life; her ways wind about aimlessly, and you cannot know them.

7 A nd now, children, hearken unto me, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

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

Let your way in life be far from her, and come not near the door of her house,

9 l est thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel;

Lest you give your honor to others and your years to those without mercy,

10 l est strangers be filled with thy wealth, and the fruits of thy toil into the house of a stranger;

Lest strangers take their fill of your strength and wealth and your labors go to the house of an alien —

11 a nd thou mourn in thine end, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed;

And you groan and mourn when your end comes, when your flesh and body are consumed,

12 a nd thou say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof!

And you say, How I hated instruction and discipline, and my heart despised reproof!

13 a nd I have not hearkened unto the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to those that instructed me;

I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers nor submitted and consented to those who instructed me.

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

my sin involved almost all evil of the congregation and the community.

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

Drink waters out of your own cistern, and fresh running waters out of your own well.

16 T hy fountains shall be poured forth, as water-brooks in the broadways.

Should your offspring be dispersed abroad as water brooks in the streets?

17 L et them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.

let your children be for you alone, and not the children of strangers with you.

18 L et thy fountain be blessed; and have joy of the wife of thy youth.

Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.

19 A s a lovely hind and a graceful roe, let her breasts satisfy thee at all times: be thou ravished continually with her love.

Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant doe —let her bosom satisfy you at all times, and always be transported with delight in her love.

20 A nd why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

Why should you, my son, be infatuated with a loose woman, embrace the bosom of an outsider, and go astray?

21 F or the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah, and he pondereth all his paths.

For the ways of man are directly before the eyes of the Lord, and He carefully weighs all man’s goings.

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

His own iniquities shall ensnare the wicked man, and he shall be held with the cords of his sin.

23 H e shall die for want of discipline; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

He will die for lack of discipline and instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray and be lost.