| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New Living Translation |
| 1My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding; | 1My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel. |
| 2That you may observe discretion And your lips may reserve knowledge. | 2Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned. |
| 3For the lips of an adulteress drip honey And smoother than oil is her speech; | 3For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth 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 as bitter as poison, as dangerous 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. | 6For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it. |
| 7Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not depart from the words of my mouth. | 7So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say: |
| 8Keep your way far from her And do not go near the door of her house, | 8Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house! |
| 9Or you will give your vigor to others And your years to the cruel one; | 9If you do, you will lose your honor and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved. |
| 10And strangers will be filled with your strength And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien; | 10Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor. |
| 11And you groan at your final end, When your flesh and your body are consumed; | 11In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body. |
| 12And you say, "How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! | 12You will say, “How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings! |
| 13"I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors! | 13Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors? |
| 14"I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation." | 14I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.” |
| 15Drink water from your own cistern And fresh water from your own well. | 15Drink water from your own well— share your love only with your wife. |
| 16Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? | 16Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone? |
| 17Let them be yours alone And not for strangers with you. | 17You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers. |
| 18Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth. | 18Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for 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. | 19She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love. |
| 20For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress And embrace the bosom of a foreigner? | 20Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman? |
| 21For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He watches all his paths. | 21For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. |
| 22His own iniquities will capture the wicked, And he will be held with the cords of his sin. | 22An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. |
| 23He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray. | 23He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness. |
| 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 | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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