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1My son, keep my words,[#Verses 1–3 are artistically constructed. “Keep” in v. 1a recurs in v. 2a; “commands” in v. 1b recurs in v. 2a; the imperative verb “live” occurs in the very center of the three lines; v. 3, on preserving the teaching upon one’s very person, matches vv. 1–2, on preserving the teaching internally by memorizing it.]
and treasure my commands.
2Keep my commands and live,[#: here as elsewhere (Gn 20:7; 42:18; 2 Kgs 18:32; Jer 27:12, 17; Ez 18:32), the imperative (“Live!”) is uttered against the danger of death, e.g., “Do such and such and you will live (= survive the danger); why should you die?”]
and my teaching as the apple of your eye;
3Bind them on your fingers,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4Say to Wisdom, “You are my sister!”[#: “sister” and “brother” are examples of love language in the ancient Near East, occurring in Egyptian love poetry and Mesopotamian marriage songs. In Sg 4:9, 10, 12; 5:1, the man calls the woman, “my sister, my bride.” Intimate friendship with Woman Wisdom saves one from false and dangerous relationships.]
Call Understanding, “Friend!”
5That they may keep you from a stranger,
from the foreign woman with her smooth words.
6For at the window of my house,
through my lattice I looked out
7And I saw among the naive,
I observed among the young men,
a youth with no sense,
8Crossing the street near the corner,
then walking toward her house,
9In the twilight, at dusk of day,
in the very dark of night.
10Then the woman comes to meet him,
dressed like a harlot, with secret designs.
11She is raucous and unruly,
her feet cannot stay at home;
12Now she is in the streets, now in the open squares,
lurking in ambush at every corner.
13Then she grabs him, kisses him,
and with an impudent look says to him:
14“I owed peace offerings,
and today I have fulfilled my vows;
15So I came out to meet you,
to look for you, and I have found you!
16With coverlets I have spread my couch,
with brocaded cloths of Egyptian linen;
17I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh,[#: a bed can designate a place of burial in Is 57:2; Ez 32:25; 2 Chr 16:14. : the spices could be used for funerals as for weddings (Jn 19:39). It is possible that the language is ambivalent, speaking of death as it seems to speak of life. As the woman offers the youth a nuptial feast, she is in reality describing his funerary feast.]
with aloes, and with cinnamon.
18Come, let us drink our fill of love,
until morning, let us feast on love!
19For my husband is not at home,[#: the woman is calculating. She knows exactly how long her husband will be gone.]
he has gone on a long journey;
20A bag of money he took with him,
he will not return home till the full moon.”
21She wins him over by repeated urging,
with her smooth lips she leads him astray.
22He follows her impulsively,
like an ox that goes to slaughter;
Like a stag that bounds toward the net,
23till an arrow pierces its liver;
Like a bird that rushes into a snare,
unaware that his life is at stake.
24So now, children, listen to me,[#The father addresses “children,” a larger audience than his own son; the story is typical, intended for others as an example. The story is a foil to the speech of the other woman in chap. 8.]
be attentive to the words of my mouth!
25Do not let your heart turn to her ways,
do not go astray in her paths;
26For many are those she has struck down dead,
numerous, those she has slain.
27Her house is a highway to Sheol,
leading down into the chambers of death.