7 Now then, my sons, listen to me;

do not turn aside from what I say.

8 Keep to a path far from her,

do not go near the door of her house,

9 lest you lose your honor to others

and your dignity to one who is cruel,

10 lest strangers feast on your wealth

and your toil enrich the house of another.

11 At the end of your life you will groan,

when your flesh and body are spent.

12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!

How my heart spurned correction!

13 I would not obey my teachers

or turn my ear to my instructors.

14 And I was soon in serious trouble

in the assembly of God’s people.”

7 And now, O sons, listen to me,

and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8 Keep your way far from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

9 lest you give your honor to others

and your years to the merciless,

10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,

11 and at the end of your life you groan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

12 and you say, “How I hated discipline,

and my heart despised reproof!

13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

14 I am at the brink of utter ruin

in the assembled congregation.”

7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children,

And depart not from the words of my mouth.

8 Remove thy way far from her,

And come not nigh the door of her house:

9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others,

And thy years unto the cruel:

10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth;

And thy labours be in the house of a stranger;

11 And thou mourn at the last,

When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

12 And say, How have I hated instruction,

And my heart despised reproof;

13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,

Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

14 I was almost in all evil

In the midst of the congregation and assembly.

7 So now, my sons, listen to me.

Never stray from what I am about to say:

8 Stay away from her!

Don’t go near the door of her house!

9 If you do, you will lose your honor

and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved.

10 Strangers will consume your wealth,

and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor.

11 In the end you will groan in anguish

when disease consumes your body.

12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!

If only I had not ignored all the warnings!

13 Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers?

Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?

14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin,

and now I must face public disgrace.”

7 Now, my sons, listen to me,

and don’t ignore what I say.

8 Stay away from such a woman.

Don’t even go near the door of her house,

9 or you will give your riches to others,

and the best years of your life will be given to someone cruel.

10 Strangers will enjoy your wealth,

and what you worked so hard for will go to someone else.

11 You will groan at the end of your life

when your health is gone.

12 Then you will say, “I hated being told what to do!

I would not listen to correction!

13 I would not listen to my teachers

or pay attention to my instructors.

14 I came close to being completely ruined

in front of a whole group of people.”

7 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me,

And depart not from the words of my mouth.

8 Remove thy way far from her,

And come not nigh the door of her house;

9 Lest thou give thine honor unto others,

And thy years unto the cruel;

10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength,

And thy labors be in the house of an alien,

11 And thou mourn at thy latter end,

When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

12 And say, How have I hated instruction,

And my heart despised reproof;

13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers,

Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

14 I was well-nigh in all evil

In the midst of the assembly and congregation.

7 And now, children, hearken unto me, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: 9 lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel; 10 lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and the fruits of thy toil come into the house of a stranger; 11 and thou mourn in thine end, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed; 12 and thou say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof! 13 and I have not hearkened unto the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to those that instructed me; 14 I was well nigh in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

7 But now, sons, 

listen to me, 

and do not turn away from what I say to you. 

8 Stay far away from her. 

Do not even go near her door. 

9 Either you will surrender your reputation to others 

and ⸤the rest of⸥ your years to some cruel person, 

10 or strangers will benefit from your strength 

and you will have to work hard in a pagan’s house. 

11 Then you will groan when your end comes, 

when your body and flesh are consumed. 

You will say, 

12 “Oh, how I hated discipline! 

How my heart despised correction! 

13 I didn’t listen to what my teachers said to me, 

nor did I keep my ear open to my instructors. 

14 I almost reached total ruin 

in the assembly and in the congregation.” 

7 So now, my sons, listen to me,

and don’t turn away from the words of my mouth.

8 Keep your way far from her.

Don’t go near the door of her house.

9 Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others

and your years to someone cruel;

10 strangers will drain your resources,

and your earnings will end up in a foreigner’s house.

11 At the end of your life, you will lament

when your physical body has been consumed,

12 and you will say, “How I hated discipline,

and how my heart despised correction.

13 I didn’t obey my teachers

or listen closely to my mentors.

14 I am on the verge of complete ruin

before the entire community.”

7 And now, my child, listen to me,

and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8 Keep your way far from her,

and do not go near the door of her house;

9 or you will give your honor to others,

and your years to the merciless,

10 and strangers will take their fill of your wealth,

and your labors will go to the house of an alien;

11 and at the end of your life you will groan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

12 and you say, “Oh, how I hated discipline,

and my heart despised reproof!

13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

14 Now I am at the point of utter ruin

in the public assembly.”

7 Now, O children, listen to me;

do not depart from the sayings of my mouth.

8 Keep your paths far from her,

and do not go near to the door of her house,

9 lest you give your honor to the others,

and your years to the merciless,

10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,

11 and you groan at your end,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

12 and say “How I hated discipline,

and I despised reproof!”

13 and “I did not listen to the voice of my teachers,

and I did not incline my ear to my instructors!

14 I was almost at utter ruin

in the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

7 My sons, listen to me.

Don’t turn away from what I say.

8 Stay on a path far away from that evil woman.

Don’t even go near the door of her house.

9 If you do, you will give your best strength to others.

You will give the best years of your life to someone who is mean.

10 Strangers will use up all of your wealth.

Your hard work will make someone else rich.

11 At the end of your life you will groan.

Your skin and your body will be worn out.

12 You will say, “How I hated to take advice!

How my heart refused to be corrected!

13 I would not obey my teachers.

I wouldn’t listen to those who taught me.

14 I was almost totally destroyed.

It happened right in front of the whole community.”

7 Now then, my sons, listen to me

And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8 Keep your way far from her

And do not go near the door of her house,

9 Or you will give your vigor to others

And your years to the cruel one;

10 And strangers will be filled with your strength

And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien;

11 And you groan at your final end,

When your flesh and your body are consumed;

12 And you say, “How I have hated instruction!

And my heart spurned reproof!

13 “I have not listened to the voice of my teachers,

Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!

14 “I was almost in utter ruin

In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”