1 M y son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you.

My son! keep my sayings, And my commands lay up with thee.

2 K eep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye.

Keep my commands, and live, And my law as the pupil of thine eye.

3 B ind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Bind them on thy fingers, Write them on the tablet of thy heart.

4 S ay to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your intimate friend;

Say to wisdom, `My sister Thou.' And cry to understanding, `Kinswoman!'

5 T hat they may keep you from an adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words.

To preserve thee from a strange woman, From a stranger who hath made smooth her sayings.

6 F or at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice,

For, at a window of my house, Through my casement I have looked out,

7 A nd I saw among the naive, And discerned among the youths A young man lacking sense,

And I do see among the simple ones, I discern among the sons, A young man lacking understanding,

8 P assing through the street near her corner; And he takes the way to her house,

Passing on in the street, near her corner, And the way her house he doth step,

9 I n the twilight, in the evening, In the middle of the night and in the darkness.

In the twilight -- in the evening of day, In the darkness of night and blackness.

10 A nd behold, a woman comes to meet him, Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.

And, lo, a woman to meet him -- (A harlot's dress, and watchful of heart,

11 S he is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not remain at home;

Noisy she, and stubborn, In her house her feet rest not.

12 S he is now in the streets, now in the squares, And lurks by every corner.

Now in an out-place, now in broad places, And near every corner she lieth in wait) --

13 S o she seizes him and kisses him And with a brazen face she says to him:

And she laid hold on him, and kissed him, She hath hardened her face, and saith to him,

14 “ I was due to offer peace offerings; Today I have paid my vows.

`Sacrifices of peace-offerings by me, To-day I have completed my vows.

15 “ Therefore I have come out to meet you, To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.

Therefore I have come forth to meet thee, To seek earnestly thy face, and I find thee.

16 “ I have spread my couch with coverings, With colored linens of Egypt.

ornamental coverings I decked my couch, Carved works -- cotton of Egypt.

17 “ I have sprinkled my bed With myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

I sprinkled my bed -- myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18 “ Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with caresses.

Come, we are filled loves till the morning, We delight ourselves in loves.

19 “ For my husband is not at home, He has gone on a long journey;

For the man is not in his house, He hath gone on a long journey.

20 H e has taken a bag of money with him, At the full moon he will come home.”

A bag of money he hath taken in his hand, At the day of the new moon he cometh to his house.'

21 W ith her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him.

She turneth him aside with the abundance of her speech, With the flattery of her lips she forceth him.

22 S uddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,

He is going after her straightway, As an ox unto the slaughter he cometh, And as a fetter unto the chastisement of a fool,

23 U ntil an arrow pierces through his liver; As a bird hastens to the snare, So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

Till an arrow doth split his liver, As a bird hath hastened unto a snare, And hath not known that it for its life.

24 N ow therefore, my sons, listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth.

And now, ye sons, hearken to me, And give attention to sayings of my mouth.

25 D o not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths.

Let not thy heart turn unto her ways, Do not wander in her paths,

26 F or many are the victims she has cast down, And numerous are all her slain.

For many the wounded she caused to fall, And mighty all her slain ones.

27 H er house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.

The ways of Sheol -- her house, Going down unto inner chambers of death!