[1] My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you. [2] Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. [3] Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. [4] Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your intimate friend, [5] So that they may keep you from an adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words. [6] For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice, [7] And I saw among the naive, And discerned among the youths A young man lacking sense, [8] Passing through the street near her corner; And he walks along the way to her house, [9] In the twilight, in the evening, In the middle of the night and the darkness. [10] And behold, a woman comes to meet him, Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart. [11] She is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not remain at home; [12] She is now in the streets, now in the public squares, And lurks by every corner. [13] So she seizes him and kisses him, And with a brazen face she says to him: [14] “I was due to offer peace offerings; Today I have paid my vows. [15] “Therefore I have come out to meet you, To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you. [16] “I have spread my couch with coverings, With colored linens of Egypt. [17] “I have sprinkled my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. [18] “Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning; Let’s delight ourselves with caresses. [19] “For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey. [20] “He has taken a bag of money with him. At the full moon he will come home.” [21] With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him. [22] Suddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool, [23] Until an arrow pierces through his liver; As a bird hurries to the snare, So he does not know that it will cost him his life. [24] Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth. [25] Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths. [26] For many are the victims she has brought to ruin, And numerous are all those slaughtered by her. [27] Her house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.
