More Advice about Avoiding Adultery

20  My son, 

obey the command of your father, 

and do not disregard the teachings of your mother. 

21  Fasten them on your heart forever. 

Hang them around your neck. 

22  When you walk around, they will lead you. 

When you lie down, they will watch over you. 

When you wake up, they will talk to you 

23  because the command is a lamp, 

the teachings are a light, 

and the warnings from discipline are the path of life 

24  to keep you from an evil woman 

and from the smooth talk of a loose woman. 

25  Do not desire her beauty in your heart. 

Do not let her catch you with her eyes. 

26  A prostitute’s price is ⸤only⸥ a loaf of bread, 

but a married woman hunts for ⸤your⸥ life itself. 

27  Can a man carry fire in his lap 

without burning his clothes? 

28  Can anyone walk on red-hot coals 

without burning his feet? 

29  So it is with a man who has sex with his neighbor’s wife. 

None who touch her will escape punishment. 

30  People do not despise a thief who is hungry 

when he steals to satisfy his appetite, 

31  but when he is caught, 

he has to repay it seven times. 

He must give up all the possessions in his house. 

32  Whoever commits adultery with a woman has no sense. 

Whoever does this destroys himself. 

33  An adulterous man will find diseasea and dishonor, 

and his disgrace will not be blotted out, 

34  because jealousy arouses a husband’s fury. 

The husband will show no mercy when he takes revenge. 

35  No amount of money will change his mind. 

The largest bribe will not satisfy him.