1  My son, be ^tattentive to my wisdom;

incline your ear to my understanding,

2  that you may keep discretion,

and ^uyour lips may guard knowledge.

3  ^vFor the lips of a forbidden¹ woman drip honey,

and ^wher speech² is smoother than oil,

4  but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,

sharp as a two-edged sword.

5  ^xHer feet go down to death;

her steps follow the path to³ Sheol;

6  she does not ponder the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

7  And now, O sons, listen to me,

and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8  ^yKeep 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 labors go to the house of a foreigner,

11  and at the end of your life you groan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

12  and you say, “How I ^zhated ^adiscipline,

and my heart ^bdespised reproof!

13  I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

14  I am at the brink of utter ruin

in the assembled congregation.”