Warning Against the Adulteress

7 hMy son, keep my words

and htreasure up my commandments with you;

2  ikeep my commandments and live;

keep my teaching as jthe apple of your eye;

3  kbind them on your fingers;

kwrite them on the tablet of your heart.

4  Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

and call insight your intimate friend,

5  to keep you from lthe forbidden1 woman,

from lthe adulteress2 with her smooth words.

6  For at mthe window of my house

I have looked out through my lattice,

7  and I have seen among nthe simple,

I have perceived among the youths,

a young man olacking sense,

8  passing along the street pnear her corner,

taking the road to her house

9  in qthe twilight, in the evening,

at rthe time of night and darkness.

10  And behold, the woman meets him,

sdressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.3

11  She is tloud and uwayward;

vher feet do not stay at home;

12  now in the street, now in the market,

and wat every corner she xlies in wait.

13  She seizes him and kisses him,

and with ybold face she says to him,

14  “I had to zoffer sacrifices,4

and today I have apaid my vows;

15  so now I have come out to meet you,

to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.

16  I have spread my couch with bcoverings,

colored linens from cEgyptian linen;

17  I have perfumed my bed with dmyrrh,

aloes, and ecinnamon.

18  Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;

let us delight ourselves with love.

19  For fmy husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey;

20  he took a bag of money with him;

at full moon he will come home.”

21  With much seductive speech she persuades him;

with gher smooth talk she compels him.

22  All at once he follows her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

or as a stag is caught fast5

23  till an arrow pierces its liver;

as ha bird rushes into a snare;

he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24  And inow, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

25  Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;

do not stray into her paths,

26  for many a victim has she laid low,

and all her slain are ja mighty throng.

27  Her house is kthe way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death.

The Blessings of Wisdom

8 Does not lwisdom call?

Does not munderstanding raise her voice?

2  On nthe heights beside the way,

at the crossroads she takes her stand;

3  beside othe gates in front of pthe town,

at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:

4  “To you, O qmen, I call,

and my cry is to qthe children of man.

5  O rsimple ones, learn sprudence;

O tfools, learn sense.

6  Hear, for I will speak unoble things,

and from my lips will come vwhat is right,

7  for my wmouth will utter truth;

wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8  All the words of my mouth are righteous;

there is nothing xtwisted or crooked in them.

9  They are all ystraight to him who understands,

and right to those who find knowledge.

10  zTake my instruction instead of silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold,

11  afor wisdom is better than jewels,

and ball that you may desire cannot compare with her.

12  “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

and I find knowledge and cdiscretion.

13  dThe fear of the Lord is ehatred of evil.

fPride and arrogance and the way of evil

and gperverted speech I hate.

14  I have hcounsel and isound wisdom;

I have insight; jI have strength.

15  By me kkings reign,

and rulers decree what is just;

16  by me princes rule,

and nobles, all who govern justly.1

17  lI love those who love me,

and mthose who seek me diligently find me.

18  nRiches and honor are with me,

oenduring wealth and orighteousness.

19  My fruit is pbetter than qgold, even fine gold,

and my yield than rchoice silver.

20  I walk in the way of righteousness,

in the paths of justice,

21  granting an inheritance to those who love me,

and filling their treasuries.

22  s“The Lord tpossessed2 me at the beginning of his work,3

the first of his acts uof old.

23  Ages ago I was vset up,

at the first, wbefore the beginning of the earth.

24  When there were no xdepths I was ybrought forth,

when there were no springs abounding with water.

25  Before the mountains zhad been shaped,

abefore the hills, I was brought forth,

26  before he had made the earth with its fields,

or the first of the dust of the world.

27  When he bestablished the heavens, I was there;

when he drew ca circle on the face of the deep,

28  when he dmade firm the skies above,

when he established4 the fountains of the deep,

29  when he eassigned to the sea its flimit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out gthe foundations of the earth,

30  then hI was beside him, like a master workman,

and I was daily his5 idelight,

rejoicing before him always,

31  jrejoicing in his kinhabited world

and delighting in the children of man.

32  “And now, lO sons, listen to me:

mblessed are those who keep my ways.

33  nHear instruction and be wise,

and do not neglect it.

34  oBlessed is the one who listens to me,

watching daily at my gates,

waiting beside my doors.

35  For pwhoever finds me qfinds life

and robtains favor from the Lord,

36  but he who fails to find me sinjures himself;

all who thate me ulove death.”

The Way of Wisdom

9 vWisdom has built her house;

she has hewn her wseven xpillars.

2  She has yslaughtered her beasts; she has zmixed her wine;

she has also aset her table.

3  She has bsent out her young women to ccall

from dthe highest places in the town,

4  e“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

fTo him who lacks sense she says,

5  “Come, geat of my bread

and hdrink of zthe wine I have mixed.

6  Leave iyour simple ways,1 and jlive,

kand walk in the way of insight.”

7  Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,

and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.

8  lDo not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;

mreprove a wise man, and he will love you.

9  Give instruction2 to a wise man, and he will be nstill wiser;

teach a righteous man, and he will oincrease in learning.

10  pThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and qthe knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

11  For by me ryour days will be multiplied,

and years will be added to your life.

12  sIf you are wise, you are wise for yourself;

if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

The Way of Folly

13  tThe woman Folly is uloud;

she is seductive3 and vknows nothing.

14  She sits at the door of her house;

she takes a seat on wthe highest places of the town,

15  calling to those who pass by,

who are xgoing straight on their way,

16  y“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

And to him who lacks sense she says,

17  z“Stolen water is sweet,

and abread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

18  But he does not know bthat the dead4 are there,

that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.