Proverbs 7
1 My son! Keep my sayings, And lay up my commands with you.
My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee.
2 Keep my commands, and live, And my law as the pupil of your eye.
Keep my commandments and live; And my law as the apple of thine eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers, Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Bind them upon thy fingers; Write them upon the tablet of thy heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You [are] my sister.” And cry to understanding, “Relative!”
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; And call understanding [thy] kinswoman:
5 To preserve you from a strange woman, From a stranger who has made her sayings smooth.
That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From the foreigner that flattereth with her words.
6 For at a window of my house, I have looked out through my casement,
For at the window of my house I looked forth through my lattice;
7 And I see among the simple ones, I discern among the sons, A young man lacking understanding,
And I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, A young man void of understanding,
8 Passing on in the street, near her corner, And the way [to] her house he steps,
Passing through the street near her corner; And he went the way to her house,
9 In the twilight—in the evening of day, In the darkness of night and blackness.
In the twilight, in the evening of the day, In the middle of the night and in the darkness.
10 And behold, a woman to meet him—(A harlot’s dress, and watchful of heart,
And, behold, there met him a woman With the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart.
11 She [is] noisy, and stubborn, her feet do not rest in her house.
(She is clamorous and wilful; Her feet abide not in her house:
12 Now in an out-place, now in broad places, And she lies in wait near every corner)—
Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places, And lieth in wait at every corner.)
13 And she laid hold on him and kissed him, She has hardened her face and says to him,
So she caught him, and kissed him, [And] with an impudent face she said unto him:
14 “Sacrifices of peace-offerings [are] by me, Today I have completed my vows.
Sacrifices of peace-offerings are with me; This day have I paid my vows.
15 Therefore I have come forth to meet you, To earnestly seek your face, and I find you.
Therefore came I forth to meet thee, Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16 I decked my bed [with] ornamental coverings, Carved works—cotton of Egypt.
I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, With striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
17 I sprinkled my bed [with] myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, we are filled [with] love until the morning, We delight ourselves in loves.
Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; Let us solace ourselves with loves.
19 For the man is not in his house, He has gone on a long journey.
For the man is not at home; He is gone a long journey:
20 He has taken a bag of money in his hand, At the day of the new moon he comes to his house.”
He hath taken a bag of money with him; He will come home at the full moon.
21 She turns him aside with the abundance of her speech, She forces him with the flattery of her lips.
With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield; With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along.
22 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,
He goeth after her straightway, As an ox goeth to the slaughter, Or as [one in] fetters to the correction of the fool;
23 Until an arrow splits his liver, As a bird has hurried to a snare, And has not known that it [is] for its life.
Till an arrow strike through his liver; As a bird hasteth to the snare, And knoweth not that it is for his life.
24 And now, you sons, listen to me, And give attention to sayings of my mouth.
Now therefore, [my] sons, hearken unto me, And attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways, Do not wander in her paths,
Let not thy heart decline to her ways; Go not astray in her paths.
26 For many [are] the wounded she caused to fall, And mighty [are] all her slain ones.
For she hath cast down many wounded: Yea, all her slain are a mighty host.
