New International Version NIV
New Living Translation NLT
1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight,
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My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel.
2 that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
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Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned.
3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;
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For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil.
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
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But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
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Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
6 She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.
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For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it.
7 Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.
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So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say:
8 Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,
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Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house!
9 lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel,
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If you do, you will lose your honor and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved.
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another.
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Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor.
11 At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.
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In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!
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You will say, “How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings!
13 I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors.
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Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?
14 And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God’s people.”
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I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.
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Drink water from your own well— share your love only with your wife.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
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Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone?
17 Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
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You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers.
18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
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Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
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She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.
20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
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Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman?
21 For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths.
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For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast.
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An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.
23 For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.
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He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.
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.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.