Proverbiorum 5
1 Fili mi, attende ad sapientiam meam, et prudentiae meae inclina aurem tuam,
My son, attend unto my wisdom; to my understanding incline thou thy ear:
2 ut custodias cogitationes, et disciplinam labia tua conservent. Ne attendas fallaciae mulieris.
That thou mayest observe discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 favus enim distillans labia meretricis, et nitidius oleo guttur eius.
For as of fine honey drop the lips of an adulterous woman, and smoother than oil is her palate;
4 novissima autem illius amara quasi absinthium, et acuta quasi gladius biceps.
But her end is bitter as wormwood, it is sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death, her steps take firm hold on the nether world: (Sheol h7585)
6 Per semitam vitae non ambulant, vagi sunt gressus eius, et investigabiles.
So that she cannot balance the path of life; her tracks are unsteady, and she knoweth it not.
7 Nunc ergo fili mi audi me, et ne recedas a verbis oris mei.
And now, O ye children, hearken unto me, and depart not from the sayings of my mouth.
8 Longe fac ab ea viam tuam, et ne appropinques foribus domus eius.
Remove far from her thy way, and come not nigh to the door of her house;
9 Ne des alienis honorem tuum, et annos tuos crudeli.
That thou mayest not give up unto others thy vigor, and thy years unto the cruel;
10 ne forte implentur extranei viribus tuis, et labores tui sint in domo aliena,
That strangers may not satisfy themselves with thy strength, and with thy exertions, in the house of an alien:
11 et gemas in novissimis, quando consumpseris carnes tuas et corpus tuum, et dicas:
While thou moanest at thy end, when thy flesh and thy body are coming to their end,
12 Cur detestatus sum disciplinam, et increpationibus non acquievit cor meum,
And thou sayest, How have I hated correction, and how hath my heart rejected reproof;
13 nec audivi vocem docentium me, et magistris non inclinavi aurem meam?
While I hearkened not to the voice of my instructors, and to my teachers I inclined not my ear;
14 Pene fui in omni malo, in medio ecclesiae et synagogae.
But little more was wanting, and I had been in all [kinds of] unhappiness in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
15 Bibe aquam de cisterna tua, et fluenta putei tui:
Drink water out of thy own cistern, and running waters out of thy own well.
16 Deriventur fontes tui foras, et in plateis aquas tuas divide.
So will thy springs overflow abroad; and in the open streets will be thy rivulets of water;
17 Habeto eas solus, nec sint alieni participes tui.
They will be thy own only, and not those of strangers with thee.
18 Sit vena tua benedicta, et laetare cum muliere adolescentiae tuae:
Thy fountain will be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth, —
19 cerva charissima, et gratissimus hinnulus. ubera eius inebrient te in omni tempore, in amore eius delectare iugiter.
The lovely gazelle and the graceful chamois: let her bosom satisfy thee abundantly at all times; with her love be thou ravished continually.
20 Quare seduceris fili mi ab aliena, et foveris in sinu alterius?
And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with an adulteress, and embrace the bosom of an alien woman?
21 Respicit Dominus vias hominis, et omnes gressus eius considerat.
For before the eyes of the Lord are the ways of man, and all his tracks doth he weigh in the balance.
22 Iniquitates suas capiunt impium, et funibus peccatorum suorum constringitur.
His own iniquities will truly catch the wicked, and with the cords of his sin will he be held firmly.
23 Ipse morietur, quia non habuit disciplinam, et in multitudine stultitiae suae decipietur.
He will indeed die for want of correction; and through the abundance of his folly will he sink into error.
