Proverbs, 7

¹ My son, keep my sayings, And treasure up my commandments.

² Keep my commandments and live; Guard my instruction^*1 like the pupil of your eye.

³ Tie them around your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴ Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding “my relative,”

⁵ To guard you against the wayward^*1 woman, Against the immoral^*2 woman and her smooth^*3 words.

⁶ From the window of my house, Through my lattice, I looked down,

⁷ And as I observed the naive^*1 ones, I discerned among the youths a young man lacking good sense.^*2

⁸ He passed along the street near her corner, And he marched in the direction of her house

⁹ In the twilight, in the evening, At the approach of night and darkness.

¹⁰ Then I saw a woman meet him, Dressed like^*1 a prostitute, with a cunning heart.

¹¹ She is loud and defiant. She never stays^*1 at home.

¹² One moment she is outside, next she is in the public squares, She lurks near every corner.

¹³ She grabs hold of him and gives him a kiss; With a bold face, she says to him:

¹⁴ “I had to offer communion sacrifices. Today I paid my vows.

¹⁵ That is why I came out to meet you, To look for you, and I found you!

¹⁶ I have spread fine covers upon my bed, Colorful linen from Egypt.

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

¹⁸ Come, let us drink our fill of love until the morning; Let us enjoy passionate love together,

¹⁹ For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a distant journey.

²⁰ He took a bag of money with him, And he will not return until the day of the full moon.”

²¹ She misleads him with great persuasiveness. She seduces him with smooth speech.

²² Suddenly he goes after her, like a bull to the slaughter, Like a fool to be punished in the stocks,^*1

²³ Until an arrow pierces his liver; Like a bird rushing into a trap, he does not know that it will cost him his life.^*1

²⁴ And now, my sons, listen to me; Pay attention to the words I speak.

²⁵ Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray onto her paths,

²⁶ For she has caused many to fall down slain, And those she has killed are numerous.

²⁷ Her house leads to the Grave;^*1 It goes down to the inner chambers of death.