Proverbs 7:10–23

¹⁰And lo, a woman meets him,

dressed as a harlot, wily of heart.^e

¹¹She is loud and wayward,

her feet do not stay at home;

¹²now in the street, now in the market,

and at every corner she lies in wait.

¹³She seizes him and kisses him,

and with impudent face she says to him:

¹⁴“I had to offer sacrifices,

and today I have paid my vows;

¹⁵so now I have come out to meet you,

to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.

¹⁶I have decked my couch with coverings,

colored spreads of Egyptian linen;

¹⁷I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,

aloes, and cinnamon.

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

let us delight ourselves with love.

¹⁹For my husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey;

²⁰he took a bag of money with him;

at full moon he will come home.”

²¹With much seductive speech she persuades him;

with her smooth talk she compels him.

²²All at once he follows her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

or as a stag is caught fast^f

²³till an arrow pierces its entrails;

as a bird rushes into a snare;

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