1 M y son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:

2 t hat you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.

3 F or the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,

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

5 H er feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.

6 S he gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it.

7 N ow therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don’t depart from the words of my mouth.

8 R emove your way far from her. Don’t come near the door of her house,

9 l est you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;

10 l est strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man’s house.

11 Y ou will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,

12 a nd say, “How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

13 n either have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!

14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin, among the gathered assembly.”

15 D rink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.

16 S hould your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?

17 L et them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.

18 L et your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

19 A loving doe and a graceful deer— let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.

20 F or why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?

21 F or the ways of man are before Yahweh’s eyes. He examines all his paths.

22 T he evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

23 H e will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.