1
My son,keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
2Keep my commandments, and live ; and my law as the apple of thine eye.3Bind them upon thy fingers,write them upon the table of thine heart.4Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and callunderstanding thy kinswoman:5
That they may keep thee from the strangewoman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.6
For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,7
And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths,a a young manvoid of understanding,8
Passing through the streetnear her corner; and he went the way to her house,9
In the twilight, in the evening ,b in the black and darknight:10
And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot , and subtil of heart.11
(She is loud and stubborn ; her feetabide not in her house:12Now is she without,now in the streets, and lieth in waitat every corner.)
13
So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudentfacesaid unto him,
14
I have peaceofferings with me; this day have I payed my vows.15
Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16
I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.17
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,aloes, and cinnamon.18Come , let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.19
For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a longjourney:20
He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will comehome at the dayappointed.21
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield , with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
22
He goethafter her straightway,c as an oxgoeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;23
Till a dartstrike through his liver; as a birdhasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.24Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.25
Let not thine heartdecline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.26
For she hath cast downmanywounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27
Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.