1  ^wMy son, be attentive to my wisdom;

^xincline your ear to my understanding,

2  that you may keep ^ydiscretion,

and your lips may ^zguard knowledge.

3  For the lips of ^aa forbidden¹ woman drip honey,

and her speech² is ^bsmoother than oil,

4  but in the end she is ^cbitter as ^dwormwood,

^esharp as ^fa two-edged sword.

5  Her feet ^ggo down to death;

her steps follow the path to³ Sheol;

6  she ^hdoes not ponder the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

7  And ⁱnow, O sons, listen to me,

and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8  Keep your way far from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

9  lest you give your honor to others

and your years to the merciless,

10  lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your ^jlabors go to the house of a foreigner,

11  and at the end of your life you ^kgroan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

12  and you say, ^l“How I hated discipline,

and my heart ^mdespised reproof!

13  I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

14  ⁿI am at the brink of utter ruin

in the assembled congregation.”

15  Drink ^owater from your own cistern,

flowing water from your own well.

16  Should your ^psprings be scattered abroad,

streams of water ^qin the streets?

17  ^rLet them be for yourself alone,

and not for strangers with you.

18  Let your ^ofountain be blessed,

and ^srejoice in ^tthe wife of your youth,

19  a lovely ^udeer, a graceful doe.

Let her breasts ^vfill you at all times with delight;

be intoxicated⁴ always in her love.

20  Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with ^wa forbidden woman

and embrace the bosom of ^wan adulteress?⁵

21  For ^xa man’s ways are ^ybefore the eyes of the Lord,

and he ^zponders⁶ all his paths.

22  The ^ainiquities of the wicked ^bensnare him,

and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

23  ^cHe dies for lack of discipline,

and because of his great folly he is ^dled astray.

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.