Proverbiorum 5
1 fili mi adtende 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
that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 favus enim stillans 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 ambulat 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 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 adpropinques 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 impleantur 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 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 adquievit 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 paene 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 adulescentiae tuae
May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
19 cerva carissima et gratissimus hinulus ubera eius inebrient te omni tempore in amore illius 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 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 illius considerat
For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
22 iniquitates suae 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 multitudine stultitiae suae decipietur
He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
