Proverbiorum 7
1 [Fili mi, custodi sermones meos, et præcepta mea reconde tibi. Fili,
My son, observe my sayings, and my commandments must thou treasure up with thee.
2 serva mandata mea, et vives; et legem meam quasi pupillam oculi tui:
Observe my commandments, and live: and my teaching as the apple of thy eyes.
3 liga eam in digitis tuis, scribe illam in tabulis cordis tui.
Bind them around thy fingers, write them upon the table of thy heart.
4 Dic sapientiæ: Soror mea es, et prudentiam voca amicam tuam:
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
5 ut custodiant te a muliere extranea, et ab aliena quæ verba sua dulcia facit.
That they may keep thee from an adulterous woman, from an alien that useth flattering speeches.
6 De fenestra enim domus meæ per cancellos prospexi,
For through the window of my house, through my lattice did I [once] look out,
7 et video parvulos; considero vecordem juvenem,
And I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a lad void of sense;
8 qui transit per plateam juxta angulum et prope viam domus illius graditur:
He was passing through the market-place near her corner; and he stepped along on the way to her house,
9 in obscuro, advesperascente die, in noctis tenebris et caligine.
In the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the depth of the night and when it was dark:
10 Et ecce occurrit illi mulier ornatu meretricio, præparata ad capiendas animas: garrula et vaga,
And, behold, a woman came to meet him with the attire of a harlot, and obdurate of heart.
11 quietis impatiens, nec valens in domo consistere pedibus suis;
(She is noisy and ungovernable; in her house her feet never rest;
12 nunc foris, nunc in plateis, nunc juxta angulos insidians.
At one time she is in the street, at another in the open places, and near every corner doth she lurk, )
13 Apprehensumque deosculatur juvenem, et procaci vultu blanditur, dicens:
And she caught hold of him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face she said to him,
14 Victimas pro salute vovi; hodie reddidi vota mea:
“I had bound myself to bring peace-offerings; this day have I paid my vows:
15 idcirco egressa sum in occursum tuum, desiderans te videre, et reperi.
Therefore am I come forth to meet thee, to seek thy presence diligently, and I have found thee.
16 Intexui funibus lectulum meum; stravi tapetibus pictis ex Ægypto:
With tapestry coverings have I decked my bed, with embroidered coverlids of the fine linen of Egypt.
17 aspersi cubile meum myrrha, et aloë, et cinnamomo.
I have sprinkled my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Veni, inebriemur uberibus, et fruamur cupitis amplexibus donec illucescat dies.
Come, let us indulge in love until the morning: let us delight ourselves with dalliances.
19 Non est enim vir in domo sua: abiit via longissima:
For the man is not in his house, he is gone on a journey a great way off:
20 sacculum pecuniæ secum tulit; in die plenæ lunæ reversurus est in domum suam.
The bag of money hath he taken with him, by the day of the new-moon festival only will he come home.”
21 Irretivit eum multis sermonibus, et blanditiis labiorum protraxit illum.
She seduced him by the abundance of her reasoning: by the flattery of her lips she misguided him.
22 Statim eam sequitur quasi bos ductus ad victimam, et quasi agnus lasciviens, et ignorans quod ad vincula stultus trahatur:
He followed after her suddenly, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, and as in fetters to his correction, the fool:
23 donec transfigat sagitta jecur ejus, velut si avis festinet ad laqueum, et nescit quod de periculo animæ illius agitur.
Till an arrow cleaveth through his liver; as a bird hasteneth into the snare, and knoweth not that it is done to take his life.
24 Nunc ergo, fili mi, audi me, et attende verbis oris mei.
And now, O children, hearken unto me, and listen to the sayings of my mouth.
25 Ne abstrahatur in viis illius mens tua, neque decipiaris semitis ejus;
Let not thy heart turn aside to her ways, do not go astray on her paths.
26 multos enim vulneratos dejecit, et fortissimi quique interfecti sunt ab ea.
For many deadly wounded hath she caused to fall: yea, very numerous are all those slain by her.
