[1] My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding,
[2] that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.
[3] For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,
[4] but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.
[5] Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.
[6] She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it.
[7] Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don’t depart from the words of my mouth.
[8] Remove your way far from her. Don’t come near the door of her house,
[9] lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;
[10] lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man’s house.
[11] You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,
[12] and say, “How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
[13] neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!
[14] I have come to the brink of utter ruin, among the gathered assembly.”
[15] Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.
[16] Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?
[17] Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.
[18] Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
[19] A loving doe and a graceful deer— let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.
[20] For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?
[21] For the ways of man are before the LORD’s eyes. He examines all his paths.
[22] The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
[23] He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.