¹My son , pay attention to my wisdom .

Turn your ear to my understanding ,

²that you may maintain discretion ,

that your lips may preserve knowledge .

³For the lips of an adulteress drip honey .

Her mouth is smoother than oil ,

⁴but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood ,

and as sharp as a two-edged sword .

⁵Her feet go down to death .

Her steps lead straight to Sheol .

⁶She gives no thought to the way of life .

Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it .

⁷Now therefore , my sons , listen to me .

Don’t depart from the words of my mouth .

⁸Remove your way far from her .

Don’t come near the door of her house ,

⁹lest you give your honour to others,

and your years to the cruel one ;

¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth ,

and your labours enrich another man ’s house .

¹¹You will groan at your latter end ,

when your flesh and your body are consumed ,

¹²and say, “How I have hated instruction ,

and my heart despised reproof .

¹³I haven’t obeyed the voice of my teachers ,

nor turned my ear to those who instructed me !

¹⁴I have come to the brink of utter ruin ,

amongst the gathered assembly .”

¹⁵Drink water out of your own cistern,

running water out of your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets ,

streams of water in the public squares ?

¹⁷Let them be for yourself alone,

not for strangers with you .

¹⁸Let your spring be blessed .

Rejoice in the wife of your youth .

¹⁹A loving doe and a graceful deer —

let her breasts satisfy you at all times .

Be captivated always with her love.

²⁰For why should you , my son , be captivated with an adulteress ?

Why embrace the bosom of another ?

²¹For the ways of man are before the LORD ’s eyes .

He examines all his paths .

²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him.

The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

²³He will die for lack of instruction .

In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray .