Revised Standard Version RSV
The Latin Vulgate VUL
1 My son, be attentive to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding;
1
fili mi adtende sapientiam meam et prudentiae meae inclina aurem tuam
2 that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.
2
ut custodias cogitationes et disciplinam labia tua conservent
3 For the lips of a loose woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;
3
favus enim stillans labia meretricis et nitidius oleo guttur eius
4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
4
novissima autem illius amara quasi absinthium et acuta quasi gladius biceps
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;
5
pedes eius descendunt in mortem et ad inferos gressus illius penetrant
6 she does not take heed to the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.
6
per semitam vitae non ambulat vagi sunt gressus eius et investigabiles
7 And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
7
nunc ergo fili audi me et ne recedas a verbis oris mei
8 Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house;
8
longe fac ab ea viam tuam et ne adpropinques foribus domus eius
9 lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless;
9
ne des alienis honorem tuum et annos tuos crudeli
10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of an alien;
10
ne forte impleantur extranei viribus tuis et labores tui sint in domo aliena
11 and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,
11
et gemas in novissimis quando consumpseris carnes et corpus tuum et dicas
12 and you say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
12
cur detestatus sum disciplinam et increpationibus non adquievit cor meum
13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.
13
nec audivi vocem docentium me et magistris non inclinavi aurem meam
14 I was at the point of utter ruin in the assembled congregation."
14
paene fui in omni malo in medio ecclesiae et synagogae
15 Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.
15
bibe aquam de cisterna tua et fluenta putei tui
16 Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets?
16
deriventur fontes tui foras et in plateis aquas tuas divide
17 Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you.
17
habeto eas solus nec sint alieni participes tui
18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
18
sit vena tua benedicta et laetare cum muliere adulescentiae tuae
19 a lovely hind, a graceful doe. Let her affection fill you at all times with delight, be infatuated always with her love.
19
cerva carissima et gratissimus hinulus ubera eius inebrient te omni tempore in amore illius delectare iugiter
20 Why should you be infatuated, my son, with a loose woman and embrace the bosom of an adventuress?
20
quare seduceris fili mi ab aliena et foveris sinu alterius
21 For a man's ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he watches all his paths.
21
respicit Dominus vias hominis et omnes gressus illius considerat
22 The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is caught in the toils of his sin.
22
iniquitates suae capiunt impium et funibus peccatorum suorum constringitur
23 He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is lost.
23
ipse morietur quia non habuit disciplinam et multitudine stultitiae suae decipietur
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.