Proverbs 7
1 My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you.
My son, guard my words and conceal my precepts within you.
2 Keep my commandments and live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
Son, preserve my commandments, and you shall live. And keep my law as the pupil of your eye.
3 Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
Bind it with your fingers; write it on the tablets of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your kinsman,
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call prudence your friend.
5 that they may keep you from the adulteress, from the stranger with seductive words.
So may she guard you from the woman who is an outsider, and from the stranger who sweetens her words.
6 For at the window of my house I looked through the lattice.
For I gaze from the window of my house, through the lattice,
7 I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment,
and I see little ones. I consider a frenzied youth,
8 crossing the street near her corner, strolling down the road to her house,
who crosses the street at the corner and close to the way of that house.
9 at twilight, as the day was fading into the dark of the night.
He steps into shadows, as day becomes evening, into the darkness and gloom of the night.
10 Then a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot and cunning of heart.
And behold, a woman meets him, dressed like a harlot, prepared to captivate souls: chattering and rambling,
11 She is loud and defiant; her feet do not remain at home.
unwilling to bear silence, unable to keep her feet at home,
12 Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.
now outside, now in the streets, now lying in ambush near the corners.
13 She seizes him and kisses him; she brazenly says to him:
And overtaking the youth, she kisses him, and with a provocative face, she flatters him, saying:
14 “I have made my peace offerings; today I have paid my vows.
“I vowed sacrifices for well-being. Today I have repaid my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you; I sought you, and I have found you.
Because of this, I have gone out to meet you, desiring to see you, and I have found you.
16 I have decked my bed with coverings, with colored linen from Egypt.
I have woven my bed with cords. I have strewn it with embroidered tapestries from Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, with aloes, and with cinnamon.
I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloe, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. Let us delight in loving caresses!
Come, let us be inebriated in abundance, and let us delight in the embraces of desire, until the day begins to dawn.
19 For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.
For my husband is not in his house. He has gone away on a very long journey.
20 He took with him a bag of money and will not return till the moon is full.”
He took with him a bag of money. He will return to his house on the day of the full moon.”
21 With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.
She enmeshed him with many words, and she drew him forward with the flattery of her lips.
22 He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap,
Immediately, he follows her, like an ox being led to the sacrifice, and like a lamb acting lasciviously, and not knowing that he is being drawn foolishly into chains,
23 until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare— not knowing it will cost him his life.
until the arrow pierces his liver. It is just as if a bird were to hurry into the snare. And he does not know that his actions endanger his own soul.
24 Now, my sons, listen to me, and attend to the words of my mouth.
Therefore, my son, hear me now, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths.
Do not let your mind be pulled into her ways. And do not be deceived by her paths.
26 For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number.
For she has tossed aside many wounded, and some of those who were very strong have been slain by her.
