Proverbiorum 7
1 Fili mi, custodi sermones meos, et praecepta mea reconde tibi. Fili
My son! Keep my sayings, And lay up my commands with you.
2 serva mandata mea, et vives: et legem meam quasi pupillam oculi tui:
Keep my commands, and live, And my law as the pupil of your eye.
3 liga eam in digitis tuis, scribe illam in tabulis cordis tui.
Bind them on your fingers, Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Dic sapientiae, soror mea es: et prudentiam voca amicam tuam,
Say to wisdom, “You [are] my sister.” And cry to understanding, “Relative!”
5 ut custodiant te a muliere extranea, et ab aliena, quae verba sua dulcia facit.
To preserve you from a strange woman, From a stranger who has made her sayings smooth.
6 De fenestra enim domus meae per cancellos prospexi,
For at a window of my house, I have looked out through my casement,
7 et video parvulos, considero vecordem iuvenem,
And I see among the simple ones, I discern among the sons, A young man lacking understanding,
8 qui transit per plateam iuxta angulum, et prope viam domus illius, graditur
Passing on in the street, near her corner, And the way [to] her house he steps,
9 in obscuro, advesperascente die, in noctis tenebris, et caligine.
In the twilight—in the evening of day, In the darkness of night and blackness.
10 Et ecce occurrit illi mulier ornatu meretricio, praeparata ad decipiendas animas: garrula, et vaga,
And behold, a woman to meet him—(A harlot’s dress, and watchful of heart,
11 quietis impatiens, nec valens in domo consistere pedibus suis,
She [is] noisy, and stubborn, her feet do not rest in her house.
12 nunc foris, nunc in plateis, nunc iuxta angulos insidians.
Now in an out-place, now in broad places, And she lies in wait near every corner)—
13 Apprehensumque deosculatur iuvenem, et procaci vultu blanditur, dicens:
And she laid hold on him and kissed him, She has hardened her face and says to him,
14 Victimas pro salute vovi, hodie reddidi vota mea.
“Sacrifices of peace-offerings [are] by me, Today I have completed my vows.
15 idcirco egressa sum in occursum tuum, desiderans te videre, et reperi.
Therefore I have come forth to meet you, To earnestly seek your face, and I find you.
16 Intexui funibus lectulum meum, stravi tapetibus pictis ex Aegypto.
I decked my bed [with] ornamental coverings, Carved works—cotton of Egypt.
17 aspersi cubile meum myrrha, et aloe, et cinnamomo.
I sprinkled my bed [with] myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Veni, inebriemur uberibus, et fruamur cupitis amplexibus, donec illucescat dies.
Come, we are filled [with] love until the morning, We delight ourselves in loves.
19 non est enim vir in domo sua, abiit via longissima.
For the man is not in his house, He has gone on a long journey.
20 sacculum pecuniae secum tulit: in die plenae lunae reversurus est in domum suam.
He has taken a bag of money in his hand, At the day of the new moon he comes to his house.”
21 Irretivit eum multis sermonibus, et blanditiis labiorum protraxit illum.
She turns him aside with the abundance of her speech, She forces him 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,
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,
23 donec transfigat sagitta iecur eius: velut si avis festinet ad laqueum, et nescit quod de periculo animae illius agitur.
Until an arrow splits his liver, As a bird has hurried to a snare, And has not known that it [is] for its life.
24 Nunc ergo fili mi, audi me, et attende verbis oris mei.
And now, you sons, listen to me, And give attention to sayings of my mouth.
25 Ne abstrahatur in viis illius mens tua: neque decipiaris semitis eius.
Do not let your heart turn to her ways, Do not wander in her paths,
26 multos enim vulneratos deiecit, et fortissimi quique interfecti sunt ab ea.
For many [are] the wounded she caused to fall, And mighty [are] all her slain ones.
