The Message Bible MSG
New International Version NIV
1 Dear friend, do what I tell you; treasure my careful instructions.
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My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you.
2 Do what I say and you'll live well. My teaching is as precious as your eyesight - guard it!
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Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
3 Write it out on the back of your hands; etch it on the chambers of your heart.
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Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Talk to Wisdom as to a sister. Treat Insight as your companion.
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Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and to insight, “You are my relative.”
5 They'll be with you to fend off the Temptress - that smooth-talking, honey-tongued Seductress.
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They will keep you from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words.
6 As I stood at the window of my house looking out through the shutters,
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At the window of my house I looked down through the lattice.
7 Watching the mindless crowd stroll by, I spotted a young man without any sense
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I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who had no sense.
8 Arriving at the corner of the street where she lived, then turning up the path to her house.
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He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house
9 It was dusk, the evening coming on, the darkness thickening into night.
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at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.
10 Just then, a woman met him - she'd been lying in wait for him, dressed to seduce him.
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Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
11 Brazen and brash she was, restless and roaming, never at home,
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(She is unruly and defiant, her feet never stay at home;
12 Walking the streets, loitering in the mall, hanging out at every corner in town.
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now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.)
13 She threw her arms around him and kissed him, boldly took his arm and said,
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She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said:
14 "I've got all the makings for a feast - today I made my offerings, my vows are all paid,
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“Today I fulfilled my vows, and I have food from my fellowship offering at home.
15 So now I've come to find you, hoping to catch sight of your face - and here you are!
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So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you!
16 I've spread fresh, clean sheets on my bed, colorful imported linens.
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I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt.
17 My bed is aromatic with spices and exotic fragrances.
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I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
18 Come, let's make love all night, spend the night in ecstatic lovemaking!
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Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love!
19 My husband's not home; he's away on business, and he won't be back for a month."
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My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.
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He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon.”
21 Soon she has him eating out of her hand, bewitched by her honeyed speech.
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With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.
22 Before you know it, he's trotting behind her, like a calf led to the butcher shop, Like a stag lured into ambush
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All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose
23 and then shot with an arrow, Like a bird flying into a net not knowing that its flying life is over.
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till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.
24 So, friends, listen to me, take these words of mine most seriously.
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Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say.
25 Don't fool around with a woman like that; don't even stroll through her neighborhood.
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Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths.
26 Countless victims come under her spell; she's the death of many a poor man.
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Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng.
27 She runs a halfway house to hell, fits you out with a shroud and a coffin.
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Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
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.