Mishle 1; Mishle 2; Mishle 3; Mishle 4; Mishle 5; Mishle 6; Mishle 7; Mishle 8; Mishle 9

Mishle 1

1 Mishlei Sh’lomo Ben Dovid, Melech Yisroel;

2 To have da’as of chochmah and musar (discipline); to understand the words of binah;

3 To receive the musar of those with seichel, tzedek and mishpat, and meisharim (equity, uprightness);

4 To give subtlety to the simple, to the na’ar, da’as and discretion.

5 A chacham (wise person) will hear, and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

6 To understand a mashal (proverb), and the melitzah (enigma); the divrei chachamim, and their chidot (riddles).

7 The Yirat Hashem is the reshit da’as, but fools despise chochmah and musar.

8 Beni (my son), hear the musar Avicha, and forsake not the Torat Immecha.

9 For they shall be a garland of chen unto thy rosh, and a chain about thy neck.

10 Beni (my son), if chatt’aim (sinners) entice thee, consent thou not.

11 If they say, Come with us, let us lie in wait for dahm, let us lurk secretly for the naki (innocent, harmless) chinnom (without cause);

12 Let us swallow them up chayyim (alive) like She’ol; and whole, as those that go down into the bor (pit);

13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill bateinu (our houses) with plunder;

14 Throw in thy goral (lot) among us; let all of us have kis echad (one pouch, purse).

15 Beni (my son), walk not thou in the derech with them; refrain thy regel from their path;

16 For their raglayim run to rah, and make haste for shefach dahm (shedding of blood).

17 Surely in vain the reshet (net) is spread in the eyes of kol ba’al kanaf (all the birds, i.e., lit. master of [the] wing);

18 And they lie in wait for their own dahm; they lurk secretly for their own nafshot.

19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy for betza (ill-gotten gain); which taketh away the nefesh of the be’alim (owners) thereof.

20 Chochmot crieth out in the street; she lifts up her voice in the rechovot (city squares);

21 She crieth out in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the she’arim (gates); in the Ir (city) she uttereth her words, saying,

22 Ad mosai, ye simple ones, will ye love being simpletons? And the scoffers delight in their mockery, and kesilim (fools) hate da’as?

23 Turn you at my tokhechah (reproof); hinei, I will pour out my ruach unto you, I will make known my devarim unto you.

24 Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my yad, and no man regarded;

25 But ye have disdained all my etza (counsel), and would have none of my tokhechah (reproof);

26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your pachad (terror) cometh;

27 When your pachad (terror) cometh like a storm, and your calamity cometh like a whirlwind; when tzarah (distress) and oppression cometh upon you.

28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall look for me diligently, but they shall not find me;

29 For that they hated da’as, and did not choose the Yirat Hashem;

30 They would have none of my etza (counsel); they despised all my tokhechah (reproof).

31 Therefore shall they eat of the p’ri (fruit) of their own derech, and be filled with their own mo’atzot (schemes, devices).

32 For the waywardness of the simple shall slay them, and the complacent contentment of kesilim (fools) shall destroy them.

33 But the one who payeth heed unto me [Chochmat Hashem, i.e., the Redemptive Word, not only Hashem’s creative agent (Ps 33:6; Prov 8:30; 30:4) but the one who comes with a healing mission according to Ps 107:20, though Moshiach has to die in the midst of his healing Mission to accomplish our healing from guilt and punitive dread-Isa 53:5] shall dwell safely, and shall be secure from pachad ra’ah (terror of evil).

Mishle 2

1 Beni (my son), if thou wilt receive my words, and treasure my mitzvot with thee;

2 So that thou incline thine ear unto chochmah, and apply thine lev to tevunah (understanding);

3 Yea, if thou criest out after binah, and liftest up thy voice for tevunah (understanding)

4 If thou seekest her as kesef, and searchest for her as for matmonim (hidden treasures);

5 Then shalt thou understand the Yirat Hashem, and find the Da’as Elohim.

6 For Hashem giveth chochmah; out of His Peh (mouth) cometh da’as (knowledge) and tevunah (understanding).

7 He layeth up tushiyyah (wise Torah counsel) for the yesharim (upright ones); He is a mogen (shield) to them that walk in blamelessness.

8 He keepeth the orkhot mishpat, and is shomer over the derech of His Chasidim.

9 Then shalt thou understand tzedek, and mishpat, and mesharim (equity, fairness)?every ma’agal tov (good path).

10 When chochmah entereth into thine lev, and da’as (knowledge) is pleasant unto thy nefesh;

11 Mezimah (discretion) shall be shomer over thee, tevunah (understanding) shall safeguard thee;

12 To save thee from the derech rah, from the ish medaber tahpukhot (man speaking perverse things);

13 Who leaving the orkhot yosher (paths of uprightness), walk in the drakhei choshech (ways of darkness);

14 Who rejoice to do rah, and delight in the tahpukhot (perverse things) of rah (evil);

15 Whose orkhot (paths) are crooked ones, and they are devious in their ma’agalot (paths);

16 To save thee from the isha zarah (strange woman), even from the nokhriyah (strange [immoral] woman) which useth smooth words;

17 Which forsaketh the alluf (companion, husband) of her youth, and forgetteth the brit (covenant) of her G-d.

18 For her bais inclineth toward mavet, and her ma’agalot (paths) to the refa’im (spirits of the dead).

19 None that go unto her return again, neither attain they to the orkhot chayyim (paths of life).

20 That thou mayest walk in the derech tovim, and be shomer over the orkhot tzaddikim (paths of the righteous).

21 For the yesharim (upright ones) shall dwell in the land, and the tamimim (blameless, faultless ones) shall remain in it.

22 But the resha’im shall be cut off from ha’aretz, and the bogedim (treacherous ones) shall be rooted out of it.

Mishle 3

1 Beni (my son), forget not my torah; but let thine lev keep my mitzvot;

2 For orekh yamim (length of days), and shnot chayyim, and shalom, shall they add to thee.

3 Let not chesed and emes forsake thee; bind them about thy neck; write them upon the luach (tablet) of thine lev;

4 So shalt thou find chen and seichel tov in the eyes of Elohim and adam.

5 Trust in Hashem with all thine lev, and lean not unto thine own binah (understanding).

6 In all thy drakhim acknowledge Him, and He shall make yosher thy orkhot (paths).

7 Be not chacham in thine own eyes; fear Hashem, and depart from rah.

8 It shall be rife’ut (health) to thy navel, and marrow to thy atzmot.

9 Honor Hashem with thy substance, and with the reshit (firstfruit) of all thine increase;

10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy vats shall burst out with tirosh.

11 Beni (my son), despise not the musar Hashem; neither be weary of His tokhakhah (reproof);

12 For whom Hashem loveth, He correcteth; even as an av the ben in whom he delighteth.

13 Ashrei (happy) is the man that findeth chochmah, and the man that getteth tevunah (understanding).

14 For the gain of it is better than the gain of kesef, and the increase thereof than fine gold.

15 She is more precious than peninim (pearls); and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

16 Orekh yamim is in her right hand; and in her left hand osher and kavod.

17 Her drakhim are drakhim of pleasantness, and all her netivot (trodden paths) are shalom.

18 She is an Etz Chayyim (Tree of Life) to them that lay hold upon her; and me’usher (blessed) is every one that holdeth her fast.

19 Hashem by chochmah hath founded Eretz (Earth); by tevunah (understanding) hath He established Shomayim.

20 By His da’as (knowledge) the tehomot (oceanic depths) were divided, and the clouds drop down the tal (dew).

21 Beni (my son), let not them depart from thine eyes; keep sound judgment and mezimah (discretion);

22 So shall they be chayyim unto thy nefesh, and chen to thy neck.

23 Then shalt thou walk in thy derech safely, and thy regel shall not stumble.

24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid; when thou liest down, thy sheynah (sleep) shall be sweet.

25 Be not afraid of sudden pachad (terror), neither of the desolation of the resha’im (wicked ones), when it cometh.

26 For Hashem shall be thy confidence, and shall be shomer over thy regel from the snare.

27 Withhold not tov from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine yad to do it.

28 Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and makhar (tomorrow) I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

29 Devise not ra’ah against thy re’a, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

30 Strive not with adam without cause, if he have done thee no ra’ah.

31 Envy thou not the ish chamas, and choose none of his drakhim.

32 For the perverse person is to’avat (detestable) to Hashem; but His sod (secret, intimate counsel) is with the yesharim (upright ones).

33 The curse of Hashem is in the bais of the rasha; but He puts a bracha on the dwelling of the tzaddikim.

34 Surely He scorneth the scorners; but He giveth chen (grace, favor) unto the anayim (lowly, humble ones).

35 The chachamim shall inherit kavod, but shame shall be the promotion of kesilim (fools).

Mishle 4

1 Hear, ye banim, the musar (instruction, discipline) of an av, and attend to know binah (understanding).

2 For I give you lekach tov (good doctrine, good instruction), forsake ye not my torah.

3 For I was ben to avi, tender and yachid (an only child) before immi.

4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine lev retain my words; be shomer over my mitzvot, and live.

5 Acquire chochmah, acquire binah (understanding); forget it not; neither turn from the words of my peh (mouth).

6 Forsake her not, and she shall be shomer over thee; love her, and she shall protect thee.

7 Chochmah is the principal thing; therefore get chochmah, and with all thy getting get binah (understanding).

8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee; she shall honor thee with kavod, when thou dost embrace her.

9 She shall give to thine head a garland of chen; an ateret (crown) of tiferet (glory) shall she present to thee.

10 Hear, O beni (my son), and receive my sayings; and thy shnot chayyim shall be many.

11 I have taught thee in the derech chochmah; I have led thee in ma’aglei yosher (right paths).

12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be hindered; and when thou runnest, lo tikashel (thou shalt not stumble).

13 Take firm hold of musar; let her not go; guard her; for she is thy chayyim.

14 Enter not into the orach resha’im, and go not on the derech ra’im (road of the wicked).

15 Avoid it, travel al (not) on it, turn from it, and pass on.

16 For they sleep not, unless they have done evil; and their sheynah (sleep) is robbed, unless they cause some to fall.

17 For they eat the lechem of resha, and drink the yayin of chamasim (violences).

18 But the orach tzaddikim (path of the righteous) is as the bright light, that shineth brighter and brighter unto the full day.

19 The derech resha’im is as deep darkness; they know not at what they stumble.

20 Beni (my son), attend to my words; incline thine ozen unto my sayings.

21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; be shomer over them within thine lev.

22 For they are chayyim unto those that find them, and health to all their basar.

23 Set watch over and guard thy lev with all diligence; for out of it are the totze’ot chayyim (issues, wellsprings of life cf Mk 7:20-23).

24 Put away from thee a deceitful peh (mouth), and perverse sfatayim (lips) put far from thee.

25 Let thine eynayim look straight forward, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

26 Ponder the ma’agal (path) of thy raglayim, and let all thy drakhim be firm.

27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy regel from rah [T.N. Everyone in life has two paths to choose from just as Moshiach Tzidkeinu spoke of two gates, a wide one crowded with traffic and leading to destruction, and another one found by few but leading to life and redemption?Mt 7:13-14].

Mishle 5

1 Beni (my son), attend unto my chochmah, and bow thine ozen to my tevunah (understanding);

2 That thou mayest regard mezimah (discretion), and that thy sfatayim (lips) may keep da’as (knowledge).

3 For the sfatayim (lips) of a zarah (strange woman) drip as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than shemen (olive oil);

4 But her end is marah (bitter) as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged cherev.

5 Her raglayim go down to mavet; her steps lead to Sheol.

6 Lest thou shouldest compare [hers] to the orach chayyim, her ma’agalot (paths) are crooked, that thou canst not know them.

7 Hear me now therefore, O ye banim, and turn not from the words of my peh (mouth).

8 Remove thy derech far from her, and come not near the petach (doorway) of her bais;

9 Lest thou give thine hod (strength) unto others, and thy shanim unto the cruel one;

10 Lest zarim (strangers) be filled with thy koach; and thy toilings be in the bais nochri;

11 And thou mourn at the acharit (last, latter end, future), when thy basar and thy body are consumed,

12 And say, How have I hated musar, and my lev spurned tokhakhat (reproof);

13 And have not obeyed the voice of my morim (teachers), nor inclined mine ear to the ones who were my melamed!

14 I was at the brink of all rah (evil, ruin) in the midst of the kahal (congregation) and edah (assembly).

15 Drink mayim out of thine own bor (cistern), and running waters out of thine own well.

16 Should thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and channels of mayim in the rekhovot (town squares)?

17 Let them be only thine own, and never zarim (strangers) with thee.

18 Let thy makor (fountain) be blessed; and rejoice with the isha of thy youth.

19 Let her be as the loving deer and graceful doe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou enraptured tamid (ever) with ahavat (love of) her.

20 And why wilt thou, beni (my son), be intoxicated with a zarah (strange woman), and embrace the kheyk (bosom) of a nochriyah (foreign [heathen] woman)?

21 For the drakhim ish are before the eyes of Hashem, and He pondereth all his ma’agalot (paths).

22 His own avonot shall entrap the rashah himself, and he shall be held fast by the cords of his chattat.

23 He shall die without musar; and in the greatness of his folly he shall be led astray.

Mishle 6

1 Beni (my son), if thou put up collateral for thy re’a, if thou hast shaken hands in pledge with a zar (stranger),

2 Thou art snared with the words of thy peh (mouth), thou art trapped with the words of thy peh (mouth).

3 Do this now, beni (my son), and deliver thyself, since thou art come into the palm of thy re’a; go, humble thyself, and plead with thy re’a.

4 Give not sheynah to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

5 Deliver thyself as a gazelle from the yad [of the hunter], and as a tzippor (bird) from the yad of the fowler.

6 Go to the nemalah (ant), thou atzel (sluggard, lazy one); consider her drakhim (ways), and be chacham (wise);

7 Which having no katzin (officer, leader) or shoter (policeman) or moshel,

8 Prepareth her lechem in the kayitz (summer), and gathereth her food in the katzir (harvest).

9 Ad mosai wilt thou lie down, O atzel (sluggard, lazy one)? When wilt thou arise out of thy sheynah (sleep)?

10 Yet a little sheynot (sleep [pl.]), a little slumber, a little folding of the yadayim to sleep;

11 So shall thy poverty come as a prowler, and thy need as an ish mogen (man of armor).

12 A worthless person, a wicked man, walketh with a perverse peh (mouth).

13 He winketh with his eyes, he shuffleth with his regel, he pointeth with his fingers;

14 Tahpukhot (perversity) is in his lev, he deviseth rah continually; he stirs up midanim (contention, strife, discord [pl.]).

15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be destoyed without marpeh (remedy).

16 These shesh (six) things doth Hashem hate; indeed, shevah (seven) are an abomination unto His Nefesh;

17 Haughty eyes, a lashon sheker, and hands guilty of shefach dahm naki,

18 A lev that deviseth wicked machshevot (plans), raglayim that are swift in running to ra’ah,

19 An ed sheker that speaketh lies, and he that soweth midanim (contention, strife, discords) among achim.

20 Beni (my son), keep the mitzvat Avicha, and forsake not the torat Immecha;

21 Bind them tamid (continually) upon thine lev, and tie them about thy neck.

22 When thou goest, it shall guide thee; when thou sleepest, it shall be shomer over thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23 For the mitzvah is a ner (lamp); and torah an ohr; and tokhakhot musar (reproofs of discipline) are the Derech Chayyim (Life Lane);

24 To be shomer over thee, keeping thee from the eshet rah, from the smooth lashon of the nokhriyah (strange woman).

25 Lust not after her beauty in thine lev; neither let her allure thee with her eyelids.

26 For by means of an isha zonah a man is reduced to a kikar lechem; and [another] man’s wife will prey on the nefesh yekara (precious soul).

27 Can a man take eish in his kheyk, and his clothes not be burned?

28 Can one walk upon hot coals, and his regel not be burned?

29 So is he that goeth into his eshet re’a; whosoever toucheth her shall not go unpunished.

30 Men do not despise a ganav if he steal to satisfy his nefesh when he is starving;

31 But if he be found out, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give hon (substance, wealth) of his bais;

32 But the no’ef (one who committeth adultery) with an isha lacketh lev [of understanding]; he that doeth it destroyeth his own nefesh.

33 A nega [see Isaiah 53:8 for Moshiach’s nega taken for unfaithful Israel] and dishonor shall he get; and his cherpah (reproach) shall not be wiped away.

34 For kina (jealousy) is the chamat gever (husband’s rage); therefore he will not spare in the yom nakam (day of vengeance).

35 He will not regard kofer (compensation); neither will he be the appeased, though shochad (bribe) be great.

Mishle 7

1 Beni (my son), be shomer over my words, and treasure up my mitzvot with thee.

2 Be shomer over my mitzvot, and live, and over my torah as the apple of thine eye.

3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the luach (tablet) of thine lev.

4 Say unto chochmah, Thou art my achot; and call binah (understanding) thy kinsman;

5 That they may be shomer over thee and keep thee from the zarah, from the nokhriyah with her smooth words.

6 For at the chalon (window) of my bais I looked through my lattice,

7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the banim, a na’ar (young man) devoid of lev [of understanding, sense],

8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went on the derech to her bais,

9 In the twilight, at erev, in the black and dark lailah;

10 And, hinei, there met him an isha with the attire of a zonah, and crafty of lev

11 —She is loud and soreret (rebellious, defiant); her raglayim abide not in her bais;

12 Now is she without, now in the rechovot, and lurketh in wait at every pinnah (corner)—

13 So she caught hold of him, and kissed him, and with a brazen ponem said unto him,

14 I have zivkhei shelamim vowed; this yom have I payed my neder.

15 Al ken (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 a bedspread of fine linen of Mitzrayim.

17 I have perfumed my mishkav (bed) with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18 Come, let us take our fill of dodim (loves) until boker; let us delight ourselves with ahavim (loves, pl. of intensity).

19 For the ish (man, i.e., husband) is not b’bais, he is gone a derech merachok (distant journey);

20 He hath taken a bag of kesef with him, and will come back to his bais at the appointed time.

21 By her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with the smoothness of her sfatayim she seduced him.

22 He goeth after her and followeth immediately, as a shor (ox) goeth to tavach (stock yard, slaughter-house), or as the fettered to the musar of the fool;

23 Till a khetz (arrow) strike through his liver; as a tzippor hasteth to the pach (snare), and knoweth not that it is for his nefesh (life).

24 Pay heed unto me now therefore, O ye banim, and attend to the words of my peh (mouth).

25 Let not thine lev turn aside to her drakhim; go not astray in her netivot (trodden paths).

26 For she hath cast down many chalalim (wounded); indeed, many strong men have been slain by her.

27 Her bais is the drakhei Sheol, going down to the chadarim (chambers, rooms) of mavet (death). [T.N. The off-stage character here in chp 7 has been the cuckold. Because of her Ba’al affair, Hashem became the cuckold of Israel even as Hosea became the cuckold of Gomer.]

Mishle 8

1 Doth not Chochmah cry out? And Tevunah (understanding) put forth her voice?

2 In the top of high hills, beside the derech (road) in the bais netivot (meeting place of trodden paths, crossroads) nitzavah (she [Lady Wisdom, the lady street preacher] stands).

3 She crieth out at the she’arim (gates), at the entry of the city, at the entrance at the petachim (doorways):

4 Unto you, O ishim, I call out; and my voice is to the Bnei Adam.

5 O ye simple ones, understand armah (prudence); and, ye kesilim, understand in your lev.

6 Hear; for I will speak negidim (noble things, worthy [words]); and the opening of my sfatayim (lips) shall be meisharim (upright, fair things).

7 For my mouth shall speak emes; and resha is an abomination to my sfatayim (lips).

8 All the words of my peh (mouth) are in tzedek; there is nothing crooked or perverse in them.

9 They are all correct to him that discerneth, and yesharim (straight ones) to them that find da’as (knowledge).

10 Receive my musar, and not kesef; and da’as (knowledge) rather than choice gold.

11 For chochmah is tovah (better, more precious) than pearls; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

12 I, Chochmah, dwell with armah (prudence), and find out da’as (knowledge) of mezimot (discretions).

13 The Yirat Hashem is to hate rah; pride, and ga’on (arrogance), and the derech rah, and the perverse peh (mouth), do I hate.

14 Etzah (counsel, advice) is mine, and sound judgment; I am binah; I have gevurah.

15 By me melachim reign, and nobles decree tzedek.

16 By me sarim (princes) rule, and nobles, even all the shofetim of tzedek.

17 I love them that have ahavah for me; and those that seek me shall find me.

18 Osher and kavod are with me; indeed, enduring hon (wealth) and tzedakah.

19 My p’ri is better than gold, indeed, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice kesef.

20 I walk in the orach tzedakah (way of righteousness), in the midst of the netivot (paths) of mishpat,

21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their otzarot.

22 Hashem possessed me in the reshit of His derech, before His works of old.

23 I was set up [to reign] me’olam (from eternity), from the beginning, or ever eretz was.

24 When there were no tehomot, I was brought forth; when there were no springs abounding with mayim.

25 Before the harim were settled, before the geva’ot (hills) was I brought forth;

26 While as yet He had not made eretz, nor the outer places, nor the beginning of the dust of the tevel.

27 When He set in place Shomayim, I was there; when He drew a khoog (circle, horizon) upon the face of the tehom,

28 When He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the tehom,

29 When He gave to the yam His chok (decree, limits), that the mayim should not pass its limits, when He appointed the foundations of the Eretz;

30 Then I was etzel (at the side of, beside [see Yn 1:1]) Him, as an Amon (master craftsman, builder, architect, artist); and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him [Mishle 30:4] ;

31 Rejoicing in the tevel of His Eretz; and my delights were with the Bnei Adam.

32 Now therefore pay heed unto me, O ye banim; for ashrei (blessed, happy) are they that are shomer over my drakhim.

33 Hear musar, and be chacham, and disdain it not.

34 Ashrei is adam that heareth me, watching daily at my dalatot, waiting at the mezuzot of my doors.

35 For whosoever findeth me findeth Chayyim, and shall obtain ratzon Hashem.

36 But he that sinneth against me doth chamas against his own nefesh; all they that hate me love mavet.

Mishle 9

1 Chochmah hath built her bais, she hath hewn out her seven ammudim;

2 She hath prepared her meat; she hath mixed her yayin; she hath also set her shulchan.

3 She hath sent forth her na’arot; she calleth from the highest points of the city;

4 Whosoever is simple, let him turn in here; as for him that lacketh lev (a heart of understanding), she saith to him,

5 Come, eat of my lechem, and drink of the yayin which I have mixed [Yn 6:53-54 OJBC].

6 Forsake the simple ways, and live; and go in the derech binah.

7 He that reproveth a letz (mocker) getteth to himself shame, and he that is a mochiach (reprover) of a wicked man getteth himself a blot stain.

8 Reprove not a letz, lest he hate thee; rebuke a chacham, and he will love thee.

9 Give instruction to a chacham, and he will be yet wiser; teach a tzaddik, and he will increase in learning.

10 The Yirat Hashem is the beginning of chochmah, and the da’as Kedoshim (knowledge of the Holy One) is binah (understanding).

11 For by me thy yamim shall be multiplied, and shanot chayyim shall be increased to thee.

12 If thou be chacham, thou shalt be wise for thyself, but if thou mockest, thou alone shalt suffer.

13 Aishes Kesilut (Dame Folly) is clamorous; she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

14 For she sitteth at the petach (doorway) of her bais, on a seat in the high places of the city,

15 To call those passing on the derech (road) who go straight on their way:

16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in here, and as for him that lacketh lev (heart of understanding), she saith to him,

17 Stolen waters are sweet, and lechem eaten in secret is pleasant.

18 But he has no da’as that the dead ones are there; and that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.