New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands.
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Dear friend, do what I tell you; treasure my careful instructions.
2 Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.
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Do what I say and you'll live well. My teaching is as precious as your eyesight - guard it!
3 Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.
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Write it out on the back of your hands; etch it on the chambers of your heart.
4 Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.
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Talk to Wisdom as to a sister. Treat Insight as your companion.
5 Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.
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They'll be with you to fend off the Temptress - that smooth-talking, honey-tongued Seductress.
6 While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain,
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As I stood at the window of my house looking out through the shutters,
7 I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense.
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Watching the mindless crowd stroll by, I spotted a young man without any sense
8 He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.
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Arriving at the corner of the street where she lived, then turning up the path to her house.
9 It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell.
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It was dusk, the evening coming on, the darkness thickening into night.
10 The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart.
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Just then, a woman met him - she'd been lying in wait for him, dressed to seduce him.
11 She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home.
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Brazen and brash she was, restless and roaming, never at home,
12 She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner.
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Walking the streets, loitering in the mall, hanging out at every corner in town.
13 She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said,
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She threw her arms around him and kissed him, boldly took his arm and said,
14 “I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows.
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"I've got all the makings for a feast - today I made my offerings, my vows are all paid,
15 You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are!
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So now I've come to find you, hoping to catch sight of your face - and here you are!
16 My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.
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I've spread fresh, clean sheets on my bed, colorful imported linens.
17 I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
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My bed is aromatic with spices and exotic fragrances.
18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,
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Come, let's make love all night, spend the night in ecstatic lovemaking!
19 for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip.
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My husband's not home; he's away on business, and he won't be back for a month."
20 He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month. ”
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21 So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery.
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Soon she has him eating out of her hand, bewitched by her honeyed speech.
22 He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap,
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Before you know it, he's trotting behind her, like a calf led to the butcher shop, Like a stag lured into ambush
23 awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.
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and then shot with an arrow, Like a bird flying into a net not knowing that its flying life is over.
24 So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words.
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So, friends, listen to me, take these words of mine most seriously.
25 Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path.
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Don't fool around with a woman like that; don't even stroll through her neighborhood.
26 For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims.
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Countless victims come under her spell; she's the death of many a poor man.
27 Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.
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She runs a halfway house to hell, fits you out with a shroud and a coffin.