Proverbs 7
1 My son! Keep my sayings, And lay up my commands with you.
My son, accept what I say and value my instructions.
2 Keep my commands, and live, And my law as the pupil of your eye.
Do what I tell you and you will live. Observe my teachings, valuing them as your main focus in life.
3 Bind them on your fingers, Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Tie them to your fingers; write them in your mind.
4 Say to wisdom, “You [are] my sister.” And cry to understanding, “Relative!”
Tell wisdom, “You're my sister,” and call insight your best friend.
5 To preserve you from a strange woman, From a stranger who has made her sayings smooth.
They will protect you from the immoral woman, from the prostitute with her seductive words.
6 For at a window of my house, I have looked out through my casement,
One time I looked through the lattice of the window in my house,
7 And I see among the simple ones, I discern among the sons, A young man lacking understanding,
and I saw among the immature young men one who had no sense at all.
8 Passing on in the street, near her corner, And the way [to] her house he steps,
He was walking down the street near the corner where she lived and took the road passing her house.
9 In the twilight—in the evening of day, In the darkness of night and blackness.
It was at dusk in the evening, as the light was fading and the dark night closed in.
10 And behold, a woman to meet him—(A harlot’s dress, and watchful of heart,
Then out came a woman came to meet him. She was dressed as a prostitute and had deceptive intentions.
11 She [is] noisy, and stubborn, her feet do not rest in her house.
(She was loud and provocative, never wanting to stay at home.
12 Now in an out-place, now in broad places, And she lies in wait near every corner)—
One moment she'd be walking the streets, the next she'd be there in the town squares, loitering at every corner.)
13 And she laid hold on him and kissed him, She has hardened her face and says to him,
She grabbed hold of him and kissed him, and with a bold face she told him,
14 “Sacrifices of peace-offerings [are] by me, Today I have completed my vows.
“I sacrificed my peace offering today, and paid my vows.
15 Therefore I have come forth to meet you, To earnestly seek your face, and I find you.
That's why I came out to meet you. I was looking for you and now I've found you!
16 I decked my bed [with] ornamental coverings, Carved works—cotton of Egypt.
My bed is made, covered with colorful linens from Egypt.
17 I sprinkled my bed [with] myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
I've sprinkled perfume on my bed—myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, we are filled [with] love until the morning, We delight ourselves in loves.
Come with me, let's make love until the morning. Let's enjoy one another in our love-making!
19 For the man is not in his house, He has gone on a long journey.
My husband isn't home; he's gone on a long trip.
20 He has taken a bag of money in his hand, At the day of the new moon he comes to his house.”
He took a bag of money with him, and he won't be coming back until the full moon.”
21 She turns him aside with the abundance of her speech, She forces him with the flattery of her lips.
She convinced him with all that she said; she seduced him with her smooth talking.
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 followed her right away, like an ox to the slaughter. Like a stag that's caught in a snare
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.
until an arrow pierces its liver, like a bird flying into a trap, he's unaware he will pay with his life.
24 And now, you sons, listen to me, And give attention to sayings of my mouth.
So now listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to what I'm saying.
25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways, Do not wander in her paths,
Don't even think about following her. Don't stray down her road.
26 For many [are] the wounded she caused to fall, And mighty [are] all her slain ones.
For she has brought down and destroyed a lot of men; she's killed so many.
