Proverbs 7
1 [My] son, keep my words, and hide with you my commandments. [My] son, honour the Lord, and you shall be strong; and fear none but him:
My son! Keep my sayings, And lay up my commands with you.
2 keep my commandments, and you shall live; and [keep] my words as the pupils of [your] eyes.
Keep my commands, and live, And my law as the pupil of your eye.
3 And bind them on your fingers, and write [them] on the table of your heart.
Bind them on your fingers, Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say that wisdom is your sister, and gain prudence as an acquaintance for yourself;
Say to wisdom, “You [are] my sister.” And cry to understanding, “Relative!”
5 that she may keep you from the strange and wicked woman, if she should assail you with flattering words.
To preserve you from a strange woman, From a stranger who has made her sayings smooth.
6 For she looks from a window out of her house into the streets, at one whom she may see of the senseless ones, a young man void of understanding,
For at a window of my house, I have looked out through my casement,
7 passing by the corner in the passages near her house,
And I see among the simple ones, I discern among the sons, A young man lacking understanding,
8 and speaking, in the dark of the evening,
Passing on in the street, near her corner, And the way [to] her house he steps,
9 when there happens [to be] the stillness of night and of darkness:
In the twilight—in the evening of day, In the darkness of night and blackness.
10 and the woman meets him having the appearance of a harlot, that causes the hearts of young men to flutter.
And behold, a woman to meet him—(A harlot’s dress, and watchful of heart,
11 And she is fickle, and debauched, and her feet abide not at home.
She [is] noisy, and stubborn, her feet do not rest in her house.
12 For at one time she wanders without, and at [another] time she lies in wait in the streets, at every corner.
Now in an out-place, now in broad places, And she lies in wait near every corner)—
13 Then she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said to him,
And she laid hold on him and kissed him, She has hardened her face and says to him,
14 I have a peace-offering; today I pay my vows:
“Sacrifices of peace-offerings [are] by me, Today I have completed my vows.
15 therefore I came forth to meet you, desiring your face; [and] I have found you.
Therefore I have come forth to meet you, To earnestly seek your face, and I find you.
16 I have spread my bed with sheets, and I have covered it with double tapestry from Egypt.
I decked my bed [with] ornamental coverings, Carved works—cotton of Egypt.
17 I have sprinkled my couch with saffron, and my house with cinnamon.
I sprinkled my bed [with] myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, and let us enjoy love until the morning; come, and let us embrace in love.
Come, we are filled [with] love until the morning, We delight ourselves in loves.
19 For my husband is not at home, but is gone on a long journey,
For the man is not in his house, He has gone on a long journey.
20 having taken in his hand a bundle of money: after many days he will return to his house.
He has taken a bag of money in his hand, At the day of the new moon he comes to his house.”
21 So with much converse she prevailed on him to go astray, and with the snares of her lips forced him from [the right path].
She turns him aside with the abundance of her speech, She forces him with the flattery of her lips.
22 And he followed her, being gently led on, and [that] as an ox is led to the slaughter, and as a dog to bonds, or as a hart shot in the liver with an arrow:
He is going after her straight away, he comes as an ox to the slaughter, And as a chain to the discipline of a fool,
23 and he hastens as a bird into a snare, not knowing that he is running for [his] life.
Until an arrow splits his liver, As a bird has hurried to a snare, And has not known that it [is] for its life.
24 Now then, [my] son, listen to me, and attend to the words of my mouth.
And now, you sons, listen to me, And give attention to sayings of my mouth.
25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways:
Do not let your heart turn to her ways, Do not wander in her paths,
26 for she has wounded and cast down many, and those whom she has slain are innumerable.
For many [are] the wounded she caused to fall, And mighty [are] all her slain ones.
