| New International Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, | 1My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight, |
| 2that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. | 2that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. |
| 3For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; | 3Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, |
| 4but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. | 4in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword. |
| 5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. | 5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol. |
| 6She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it. | 6She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable. |
| 7Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. | 7So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth. |
| 8Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, | 8Keep your path far from her; do not go near the door of her house, |
| 9lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel, | 9lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel; |
| 10lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another. | 10lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner. |
| 11At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. | 11At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent, |
| 12You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! | 12and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! |
| 13I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors. | 13I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors. |
| 14And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God's people." | 14I am on the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.” |
| 15Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. | 15Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well. |
| 16Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? | 16Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? |
| 17Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. | 17Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. |
| 18May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. | 18May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth: |
| 19A loving doe, a graceful deer-- may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. | 19A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever. |
| 20Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man's wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman? | 20Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger? |
| 21For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths. | 21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths. |
| 22The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. | 22The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him. |
| 23For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly. | 23He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly. |
|
