THE BOOK OF PROVERBS

 

Proverbs 7

1 ¶ My son, keep my word, and treasure my instruction.

2 Keep my commandments, and live; guard my teachings as you would your own eyes.

3 Tie them on your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 Say to wisdom, You are my sister; and call understanding your near relative:

5 So that they may keep you from the adulterous woman, from the stranger who flatters with her mouth.

6 ¶ For at the window of my house I looked out through the lattice,

7 And among the foolish youths, I spied a young man devoid of understanding,

8 Crossing the street near her corner; he walked down the road to her house,

9 At the twilight, in the evening, in the black darkness of night:

10 And, behold, a woman who was dressed like a prostitute met him there, with her mind on seduction.

11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet will not remain in her home:

12 One minute she is on the street, the next in the square, lying in wait at every corner.)

13 So she grabbed him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said to him,

14 I paid my vows today; and have some sacrificial meat.

15 Therefore I came out to meet you, to look for you, until I found you.

16 I have spread blankets on my bed, covers of colored yarn from Egypt.

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

18 Come, let us have our fill of love until the morning: let us delight ourselves with love.

19 For my husband is not at home, he has gone a long journey:

20 He took a bag of money with him, and will not return until the moon is full.

21 With her seductive speech she persuades him, with her flattering lips she controls him.

22 Impulsively he follows her, like an ox being led to the slaughter, or as a fool to punishment and bondage;

23 Till an arrow pierces his liver; like a bird darting into a snare, without knowing that it will cost him his life.

24 ¶ Therefore listen to me, my son, and pay attention to what I say.

25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, and do not stray onto her paths.

26 For she has brought many down to death: yea, many strong men have been killed by her.

27 Her house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death.