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