^{1 Ref} My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:

^{2 Ref} That you may maintain discretion, That your lips may preserve knowledge.

^{3 Ref} For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,

^{4 Ref} But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, And as sharp as a two-edged sword.

^{5 Ref} Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.

^{6 Ref} She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn't know it.

^{7 Ref} Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don't depart from the words of my mouth.

^{8 Ref} Remove your way far from her. Don't come near the door of her house,

^{9 Ref} Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

^{10 Ref} Lest strangers feast on your wealth, And your labors enrich another man's house.

^{11 Ref} You will groan at your latter end, When your flesh and your body are consumed,

^{12 Ref} And say, "How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof;

^{13 Ref} Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!

^{14 Ref} I have come to the brink of utter ruin, In the midst of the gathered assembly."

^{15 Ref} Drink water out of your own cistern, Running water out of your own well.

^{16 Ref} Should your springs overflow in the streets, Streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷ Let them be for yourself alone, Not for strangers with you.

^{18 Ref} Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

^{19 Ref} A loving doe and a graceful deer-- Let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.

^{20 Ref} For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?

^{21 Ref} For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh. He examines all his paths.

^{22 Ref} The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

^{23 Ref} He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.