Proverbs7

¹Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands.

²Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.

³Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

⁴Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.

⁵Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.

⁶While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain,

⁷I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense.

⁸He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.

⁹It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell.

¹⁰The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart.

¹¹She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home.

¹²She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner.

¹³She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said,

¹⁴“I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows.

¹⁵You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are!

¹⁶My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.

¹⁷I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,

¹⁹for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip.

²⁰He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month.”

²¹So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery.

²²He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap,

²³awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.

²⁴So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words.

²⁵Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path.

²⁶For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims.

²⁷Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.