The Peril of Adultery

5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;

1Lend your ear to my understanding,

2 That you may 2preserve discretion,

And your lips amay keep knowledge.

3 bFor the lips of 3an immoral woman drip honey,

And her mouth is csmoother than oil;

4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,

Sharp as a two-edged sword.

5 Her feet go down to death,

dHer steps lay hold of 4hell.

6 Lest you ponder her path of life—

Her ways are unstable;

You do not know them.

7 Therefore hear me now, my children,

And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8 Remove your way far from her,

And do not go near the door of her house,

9 Lest you give your 5honor to others,

And your years to the cruel one;

10 Lest aliens be filled with your 6wealth,

And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;

11 And you mourn at last,

When your flesh and your body are consumed,

12 And say:

“How I have hated instruction,

And my heart despised correction!

13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,

Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!

14 I was on the verge of total ruin,

In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”