Proverbs 7
1 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
My son! Keep my sayings, And lay up my commands with you.
2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my teaching, as the apple of thine eye.
Keep my commands, and live, And my law as the pupil of your eye.
3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the tablet of thy heart.
Bind them on your fingers, Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister, and call intelligence [thy] kinswoman:
Say to wisdom, “You [are] my sister.” And cry to understanding, “Relative!”
5 that they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger who flattereth with her words.
To preserve you from a strange woman, From a stranger who has made her sayings smooth.
6 For at the window of my house, I looked forth through my lattice,
For at a window of my house, I have looked out through my casement,
7 and I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the sons, a young man void of understanding,
And I see among the simple ones, I discern among the sons, A young man lacking understanding,
8 passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
Passing on in the street, near her corner, And the way [to] her house he steps,
9 in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the blackness of night and the darkness.
In the twilight—in the evening of day, In the darkness of night and blackness.
10 And behold, there met him a woman in the attire of a harlot, and subtle of heart.
And behold, a woman to meet him—(A harlot’s dress, and watchful of heart,
11 She is clamorous and unmanageable; her feet abide not in her house:
She [is] noisy, and stubborn, her feet do not rest in her house.
12 now without, now in the broadways, — and she lieth in wait at every corner.
Now in an out-place, now in broad places, And she lies in wait near every corner)—
13 And she caught him and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
And she laid hold on him and kissed him, She has hardened her face and says to him,
14 I have peace-offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows:
“Sacrifices of peace-offerings [are] by me, Today I have completed my vows.
15 therefore came I forth to meet thee, to seek earnestly thy face, and I have found thee.
Therefore I have come forth to meet you, To earnestly seek your face, and I find you.
16 I have decked my bed with tapestry coverlets of variegated linen from Egypt;
I decked my bed [with] ornamental coverings, Carved works—cotton of Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
I sprinkled my bed [with] myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us revel in love until the morning, let us delight ourselves with loves.
Come, we are filled [with] love until the morning, We delight ourselves in loves.
19 For the husband is not at home, he is gone a long journey;
For the man is not in his house, He has gone on a long journey.
20 he hath taken the money-bag with him, he will come home on the day of the full moon.
He has taken a bag of money in his hand, At the day of the new moon he comes to his house.”
21 With her much enticement she beguiled him; with the smoothness of her lips she constrained him.
She turns him aside with the abundance of her speech, She forces him with the flattery of her lips.
22 He went after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, and as stocks [serve] for the correction of the fool;
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 till an arrow strike through his liver: as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for its 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 And now, ye sons, hearken unto 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 thy heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths:
Do not let your heart turn to her ways, Do not wander in her paths,
26 for she hath cast down many wounded, and all slain by her were strong.
For many [are] the wounded she caused to fall, And mighty [are] all her slain ones.
