American Standard Version ASV
New International Version NIV
1 My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding:
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My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight,
2 That thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge.
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that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil:
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For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;
4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.
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but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold on Sheol;
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Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
6 So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, [and] she knoweth [it] not.
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She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.
7 Now therefore, [my] sons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth.
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Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Remove thy way far from her, And come not nigh the door of her house;
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Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,
9 Lest thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;
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lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel,
10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, And thy labors [be] in the house of an alien,
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lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another.
11 And thou mourn at thy latter end, When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
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At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.
12 And say, How have I hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof;
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You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!
13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
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I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 I was well-nigh in all evil In the midst of the assembly and congregation.
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And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God’s people.”
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well.
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Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.
16 Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets?
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Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.
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Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.
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May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 [As] a loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love.
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A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
20 For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
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Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah; And he maketh level all his paths.
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For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.
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The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
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For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.