Proverbiorum 7
1 Fili mi, custodi sermones meos, et praecepta mea reconde tibi. Fili
My son, guard my words and conceal my precepts within you.
2 serva mandata mea, et vives: et legem meam quasi pupillam oculi tui:
Son, preserve my commandments, and you shall live. And keep my law as the pupil of your eye.
3 liga eam in digitis tuis, scribe illam in tabulis cordis tui.
Bind it with your fingers; write it on the tablets of your heart.
4 Dic sapientiae, soror mea es: et prudentiam voca amicam tuam,
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call prudence your friend.
5 ut custodiant te a muliere extranea, et ab aliena, quae verba sua dulcia facit.
So may she guard you from the woman who is an outsider, and from the stranger who sweetens her words.
6 De fenestra enim domus meae per cancellos prospexi,
For I gaze from the window of my house, through the lattice,
7 et video parvulos, considero vecordem iuvenem,
and I see little ones. I consider a frenzied youth,
8 qui transit per plateam iuxta angulum, et prope viam domus illius, graditur
who crosses the street at the corner and close to the way of that house.
9 in obscuro, advesperascente die, in noctis tenebris, et caligine.
He steps into shadows, as day becomes evening, into the darkness and gloom of the night.
10 Et ecce occurrit illi mulier ornatu meretricio, praeparata ad decipiendas animas: garrula, et vaga,
And behold, a woman meets him, dressed like a harlot, prepared to captivate souls: chattering and rambling,
11 quietis impatiens, nec valens in domo consistere pedibus suis,
unwilling to bear silence, unable to keep her feet at home,
12 nunc foris, nunc in plateis, nunc iuxta angulos insidians.
now outside, now in the streets, now lying in ambush near the corners.
13 Apprehensumque deosculatur iuvenem, et procaci vultu blanditur, dicens:
And overtaking the youth, she kisses him, and with a provocative face, she flatters him, saying:
14 Victimas pro salute vovi, hodie reddidi vota mea.
“I vowed sacrifices for well-being. Today I have repaid my vows.
15 idcirco egressa sum in occursum tuum, desiderans te videre, et reperi.
Because of this, I have gone out to meet you, desiring to see you, and I have found you.
16 Intexui funibus lectulum meum, stravi tapetibus pictis ex Aegypto.
I have woven my bed with cords. I have strewn it with embroidered tapestries from Egypt.
17 aspersi cubile meum myrrha, et aloe, et cinnamomo.
I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloe, and cinnamon.
18 Veni, inebriemur uberibus, et fruamur cupitis amplexibus, donec illucescat dies.
Come, let us be inebriated in abundance, and let us delight in the embraces of desire, until the day begins to dawn.
19 non est enim vir in domo sua, abiit via longissima.
For my husband is not in his house. He has gone away on a very long journey.
20 sacculum pecuniae secum tulit: in die plenae lunae reversurus est in domum suam.
He took with him a bag of money. He will return to his house on the day of the full moon.”
21 Irretivit eum multis sermonibus, et blanditiis labiorum protraxit illum.
She enmeshed him with many words, and she drew him forward with the flattery of her lips.
22 Statim eam sequitur quasi bos ductus ad victimam, et quasi agnus lasciviens, et ignorans quod ad vincula stultus trahatur,
Immediately, he follows her, like an ox being led to the sacrifice, and like a lamb acting lasciviously, and not knowing that he is being drawn foolishly into chains,
23 donec transfigat sagitta iecur eius: velut si avis festinet ad laqueum, et nescit quod de periculo animae illius agitur.
until the arrow pierces his liver. It is just as if a bird were to hurry into the snare. And he does not know that his actions endanger his own soul.
24 Nunc ergo fili mi, audi me, et attende verbis oris mei.
Therefore, my son, hear me now, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Ne abstrahatur in viis illius mens tua: neque decipiaris semitis eius.
Do not let your mind be pulled into her ways. And do not be deceived by her paths.
26 multos enim vulneratos deiecit, et fortissimi quique interfecti sunt ab ea.
For she has tossed aside many wounded, and some of those who were very strong have been slain by her.
