| English Standard Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, | 1My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding; |
| 2that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. | 2That you may observe discretion And your lips may reserve knowledge. |
| 3For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, | 3For the lips of an adulteress drip honey And smoother than oil is her speech; |
| 4but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. | 4But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. |
| 5Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; | 5Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol. |
| 6she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. | 6She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it. |
| 7And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. | 7Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not depart from the words of my mouth. |
| 8Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, | 8Keep your way far from her And do not go near the door of her house, |
| 9lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, | 9Or you will give your vigor to others And your years to the cruel one; |
| 10lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, | 10And strangers will be filled with your strength And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien; |
| 11and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, | 11And you groan at your final end, When your flesh and your body are consumed; |
| 12and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! | 12And you say, "How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! |
| 13I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. | 13"I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors! |
| 14I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” | 14"I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation." |
| 15Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. | 15Drink water from your own cistern And fresh water from your own well. |
| 16Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? | 16Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? |
| 17Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. | 17Let them be yours alone And not for strangers with you. |
| 18Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, | 18Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth. |
| 19a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. | 19As a loving hind and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love. |
| 20Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? | 20For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress And embrace the bosom of a foreigner? |
| 21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths. | 21For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He watches all his paths. |
| 22The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. | 22His own iniquities will capture the wicked, And he will be held with the cords of his sin. |
| 23He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray. | 23He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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