| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding; | 1My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, |
| 2That you may observe discretion And your lips may reserve knowledge. | 2that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. |
| 3For the lips of an adulteress drip honey And smoother than oil is her speech; | 3For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; |
| 4But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. | 4but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. |
| 5Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol. | 5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. |
| 6She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it. | 6She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it. |
| 7Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not depart from the words of my mouth. | 7Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. |
| 8Keep your way far from her And do not go near the door of her house, | 8Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, |
| 9Or you will give your vigor to others And your years to the cruel one; | 9lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel, |
| 10And strangers will be filled with your strength And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien; | 10lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another. |
| 11And you groan at your final end, When your flesh and your body are consumed; | 11At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. |
| 12And you say, "How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! | 12You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! |
| 13"I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors! | 13I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors. |
| 14"I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation." | 14And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God's people." |
| 15Drink water from your own cistern And fresh water from your own well. | 15Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. |
| 16Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? | 16Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? |
| 17Let them be yours alone And not for strangers with you. | 17Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. |
| 18Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth. | 18May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. |
| 19As a loving hind and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love. | 19A loving doe, a graceful deer-- may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. |
| 20For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress And embrace the bosom of a foreigner? | 20Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man's wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman? |
| 21For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He watches all his paths. | 21For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths. |
| 22His own iniquities will capture the wicked, And he will be held with the cords of his sin. | 22The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. |
| 23He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray. | 23For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly. |
| 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 | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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