Proverbiorum 5
1 Fili mi, attende ad sapientiam meam, et prudentiae meae inclina aurem tuam,
My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight,
2 ut custodias cogitationes, et disciplinam labia tua conservent. Ne attendas fallaciae mulieris.
that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 favus enim distillans labia meretricis, et nitidius oleo guttur eius.
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
4 novissima autem illius amara quasi absinthium, et acuta quasi gladius biceps.
in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
6 Per semitam vitae non ambulant, vagi sunt gressus eius, et investigabiles.
She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.
7 Nunc ergo fili mi audi me, et ne recedas a verbis oris mei.
So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth.
8 Longe fac ab ea viam tuam, et ne appropinques foribus domus eius.
Keep your path far from her; do not go near the door of her house,
9 Ne des alienis honorem tuum, et annos tuos crudeli.
lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel;
10 ne forte implentur extranei viribus tuis, et labores tui sint in domo aliena,
lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.
11 et gemas in novissimis, quando consumpseris carnes tuas et corpus tuum, et dicas:
At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,
12 Cur detestatus sum disciplinam, et increpationibus non acquievit cor meum,
and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
13 nec audivi vocem docentium me, et magistris non inclinavi aurem meam?
I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors.
14 Pene fui in omni malo, in medio ecclesiae et synagogae.
I am on the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.”
15 Bibe aquam de cisterna tua, et fluenta putei tui:
Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
16 Deriventur fontes tui foras, et in plateis aquas tuas divide.
Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Habeto eas solus, nec sint alieni participes tui.
Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
18 Sit vena tua benedicta, et laetare cum muliere adolescentiae tuae:
May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
19 cerva charissima, et gratissimus hinnulus. ubera eius inebrient te in omni tempore, in amore eius delectare iugiter.
A loving doe, a graceful fawn— may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.
20 Quare seduceris fili mi ab aliena, et foveris in sinu alterius?
Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 Respicit Dominus vias hominis, et omnes gressus eius considerat.
For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
22 Iniquitates suas capiunt impium, et funibus peccatorum suorum constringitur.
The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
23 Ipse morietur, quia non habuit disciplinam, et in multitudine stultitiae suae decipietur.
He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
