Proverbs 6:20–7:5
Commandment and Instruction as Guardians
20 My child, keep the commandment of your father,
and do not disregard the instruction of your mother.
21 Bind them on your heart continually;
tie them upon your neck.
22 ⌊When you walk⌋,k shel will lead you,
⌊When you lie down⌋,m she will watch over you,
and when you awake, she will converse with you.
23 For like a lamp is a commandment, and instruction is light,
and the way of lifen is the reproof of discipline,
24 in order to preserve you from an evil woman,o
from the smoothness of the tongue of ⌊an adulteress⌋.p
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart;
may she not capture you with her eyelashes.
26 For the price of a woman, a prostitute,q is the price of a loaf of bread,
but the ⌊woman belonging to a man⌋r hunts precious life.
Warning Against Relations with a Married Woman
27 Can a man carry fire in his lap,
and his clothes not burn?
28 If a man walks upon the hot coals,
will his feet not be burned?
29 Thus, he who goes to the wife of his neighbor,
any who touches her shall not go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief when he steals
to fill himselfs when he is hungry.
31 But if he is found, he will pay sevenfold,
every possession of his house he shall give.
32 He who commits adultery with a woman lacks ⌊sense⌋,t
he destroys himselfu who does it.
33 A wound and dishonor he will find,
and his disgrace will not be wiped out.
34 For jealousy is the fury of a husband,
and he will not show restraint on the day of revenge.
35 He will not accept ⌊any compensation⌋,v
and he will not be willing, though the bribe is large.
Warning Against the Strange Woman
7 My child, guard my sayings;
store my commandments with you.
and my teaching like the ⌊apple of your eye⌋.a
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom,b “you are my sister,”
and you shall call insight,c “⌊intimate friend⌋.”d
5 In order to guard yourself from ⌊an adulteress⌋,e
from the foreigner who ⌊makes her words smooth⌋.f