Proverbs 7

^aMy son, keep my words,

And ^alay up my commandments with thee.

^2bKeep my commandments, and ^blive;

And my law as ^cthe apple of thine eye.

^3dBind them upon thy fingers,

^dWrite them upon the table of thine heart.

⁴Say unto wisdom, Thou art ^emy sister;

And call understanding thy ^fkinswoman:

^5gThat they may keep thee from the strange woman,

^gFrom the stranger which flattereth with her words.

⁶For ^hat the window of my house

^hI looked through my casement,

⁷And beheld among the ⁱsimple ones,

I discerned among the youths,

A young man ^kvoid of understanding,

⁸Passing through the ^lstreet near ^mher corner;

And he went the way to her house,

⁹In the ⁿtwilight, in the evening,

In the ^oblack and dark night:

¹⁰And behold, ^oothere met him a woman

With ^pthe attire of a harlot, and subtil of heart.

¹¹(She is ^qloud and ^rstubborn;

^sHer feet abide not in her house:

¹²Now is she without, now in the streets,

And ^sslieth in wait at ^mevery corner.)

¹³So she caught him, and kissed him,

And with an impudent face said unto him,

¹⁴I have ^tpeace offerings with me;

This day have I ^upayed my vows.

¹⁵Therefore came I forth to meet thee,

^xDiligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.

¹⁶I have deckt my bed with ^ycoverings of tapestry,

With carved works, with ^zfine linen of Egypt.

¹⁷I have ^aperfumed my bed

With ^bmyrrh, ^baloes, and ^ccinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning:

Let us solace ourselves with loves.

¹⁹For the ^dgoodman is not at home,

He is gone a long journey:

²⁰He hath taken a ^ebag of money with him,

And will come home at the day appointed.

²¹With her much ^ffair speech she caused him to yield,

With ^gthe flattering of her lips she forced him.

²²He goeth after her straightway,

As an ox goeth to the slaughter,

Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;

²³Till a dart strike through his liver;

^hAs a bird hasteth to the snare,

And knoweth not that it is for his life.

^24ikHearken unto me now therefore, O ye children,

And ^kattend to the words of my mouth.

²⁵Let not thine heart ^ldecline to her ways,

Go not astray in her paths.

²⁶For she hath cast down many wounded:

Yea, ^mmany strong men have been slain by her.

²⁷ⁿHer house is the way to hell,

Going down to ^othe chambers of death.

VIII.