1  My son, if you have put up ^esecurity for your neighbor,

have ^egiven your pledge for a stranger,

2  if you are ^fsnared in the words of your mouth,

caught in the words of your mouth,

3  then do this, my son, and save yourself,

for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:

go, hasten,¹ and ^gplead urgently with your neighbor.

4  ^hGive your eyes no sleep

and your eyelids no slumber;

5  save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,²

ⁱlike a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6  ^jGo to ^kthe ant, O ^lsluggard;

consider her ways, and ^mbe wise.

7  ⁿWithout having any chief,

^oofficer, or ruler,

8  she prepares her bread ^pin summer

and ^qgathers her food in harvest.

9  ^rHow long will you lie there, ^lO sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

10  ^sA little sleep, a little slumber,

^ta little ^sfolding of the hands to rest,

11  ^uand poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.

12  ^vA worthless person, a wicked man,

goes about with ^wcrooked speech,

13  ^xwinks with his eyes, signals³ with his feet,

points with his finger,

14  with ^yperverted heart ^zdevises evil,

continually ^asowing discord;

15  therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;

^bin a moment he will be broken ^cbeyond healing.

16  There are ^dsix things that the Lord hates,

^dseven that are an abomination to him:

17  ^ehaughty eyes, ^fa lying tongue,

and ^ghands that shed innocent blood,

18  ^ha heart that devises wicked plans,

ⁱfeet that make haste to run to evil,

19  ^ja false witness who ^kbreathes out lies,

and one who ^asows discord among brothers.

20  ^lMy son, keep your father’s commandment,

^land forsake not your mother’s teaching.

21  ^mBind them on your heart always;

ⁿtie them around your neck.

22  ^oWhen you walk, they⁴ will lead you;

^owhen you lie down, they will ^pwatch over you;

and when you awake, they will talk with you.

23  For the commandment is ^qa lamp and the teaching a light,

and the ^rreproofs of discipline are the way of life,

24  to preserve you from the evil woman,⁵

from the smooth tongue of ^sthe adulteress.⁶

25  ^tDo not desire her beauty in your heart,

and do not let her capture you with her ^ueyelashes;

26  for ^vthe price of a prostitute is only ^wa loaf of bread,⁷

but a married woman^{8 x}hunts down a precious life.

27  Can a man carry ^yfire next to his ^zchest

and his clothes not be burned?

28  Or can one ^awalk on hot coals

and his feet not be scorched?

29  So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

none who touches her ^bwill go unpunished.

30  People do not despise a thief if he steals

to ^csatisfy his appetite when he is hungry,

31  but ^dif he is caught, he will pay ^esevenfold;

he will give all the goods of his house.

32  He who commits adultery lacks sense;

he who does it destroys himself.

33  He will get wounds and dishonor,

and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

34  For ^fjealousy makes a man furious,

and he will not spare when ^ghe takes revenge.

35  He will accept no compensation;

he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

1  ^hMy son, keep my words

and ^htreasure up my commandments with you;

2  ⁱkeep my commandments and live;

keep my teaching as ^jthe apple of your eye;

3  ^kbind them on your fingers;

^kwrite them on the tablet of your heart.

4  Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

and call insight your intimate friend,

5  to keep you from ^lthe forbidden⁹ woman,

from ^lthe adulteress¹⁰ with her smooth words.

6  For at ^mthe window of my house

I have looked out through my lattice,

7  and I have seen among ⁿthe simple,

I have perceived among the youths,

a young man ^olacking sense,

8  passing along the street ^pnear her corner,

taking the road to her house

9  in ^qthe twilight, in the evening,

at ^rthe time of night and darkness.

10  And behold, the woman meets him,

^sdressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.¹¹

11  She is ^tloud and ^uwayward;

^vher feet do not stay at home;

12  now in the street, now in the market,

and ^wat every corner she ^xlies in wait.

13  She seizes him and kisses him,

and with ^ybold face she says to him,

14  “I had to ^zoffer sacrifices,¹²

and today I have ^apaid my vows;

15  so now I have come out to meet you,

to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.

16  I have spread my couch with ^bcoverings,

colored linens from ^cEgyptian linen;

17  I have perfumed my bed with ^dmyrrh,

aloes, and ^ecinnamon.

18  Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;

let us delight ourselves with love.

19  For ^fmy husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey;

20  he took a bag of money with him;

at full moon he will come home.”

21  With much seductive speech she persuades him;

with ^gher smooth talk she compels him.

22  All at once he follows her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

or as a stag is caught fast¹³

23  till an arrow pierces its liver;

as ^ha bird rushes into a snare;

he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24  And ⁱnow, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

25  Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;

do not stray into her paths,

26  for many a victim has she laid low,

and all her slain are ^ja mighty throng.

27  Her house is ^kthe way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death.

^x“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

55  ^y“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”