The Proverbs

My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding;

That you may observe discretion, And your lips may reserve knowledge.

But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of Sheol.

She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know [it].

Now then, [my] sons, listen to me, And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

Keep your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house,

Lest you give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

Lest strangers be filled with your strength, And your hard-earned goods [go] to the house of an alien;

And you groan at your latter end, When your flesh and your body are consumed;

And you say, "How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof!

"And I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!

"I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation."

Drink water from your own cistern, And fresh water from your own well.

Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?

Let them be yours alone, And not for strangers with you.

Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth.

[As] a loving hind and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love.

For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He watches all his paths.

His own iniquities will capture the wicked, And he will be held with the cords of his sin.

He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.