| New King James Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding, | 1My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding; |
| 2That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge. | 2That you may observe discretion And your lips may reserve knowledge. |
| 3For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth 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 lay hold of hell. | 5Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol. |
| 6Lest you ponder her path of life— Her ways are unstable; You do not know them. | 6She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it. |
| 7Therefore hear me now, my children, 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. |
| 8Remove 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 cruel one; | 9Or you will give your vigor to others And your years to the cruel one; |
| 10Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, 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 you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed, | 11And you groan at your final end, When your flesh and your body are consumed; |
| 12And say: “How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! | 12And you say, "How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! |
| 13I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! | 13"I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors! |
| 14I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation.” | 14"I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation." |
| 15Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. | 15Drink water from your own cistern And fresh water from your own well. |
| 16Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? | 16Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? |
| 17Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. | 17Let them be yours alone And not for strangers with you. |
| 18Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. | 18Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth. |
| 19As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. | 19As a loving hind and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love. |
| 20For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? | 20For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress And embrace the bosom of a foreigner? |
| 21For the ways of man 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. |
| 22His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught 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 shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. | 23He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. 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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