1
wch. 4:20; [ch. 2:1, 2] My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
xch. 22:17 incline your ear to my understanding,
2 that you may keepych. 1:4 discretion,
and your lips mayzMal. 2:7 guard knowledge.
3 For the lips ofaSee ch. 2:16 a forbidden woman drip honey,
and her speech isbPs. 55:21 smoother than oil,
4 but in the end she isc[Eccles. 7:26] bitter asdDeut. 29:18; Jer. 9:15; Lam. 3:15, 19; Rev. 8:11 wormwood,
ePs. 57:4; [Ps. 55:21] sharp asfSee Ps. 149:6 a two-edged sword.
5 Her feetgSee ch. 7:27 go down to death;
her steps follow the path to Sheol;
6 shehver. 21; ch. 4:26 does not ponder the path of life;
her ways wander, and she does not know it.
7 AndiSee ch. 4:1 now, O sons, listen to me,
and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your honor to others
and your years to the merciless,
10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
and yourjPs. 127:2 labors go to the house of a foreigner,
11 and at the end of your life youkEzek. 24:23 groan,
when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you say,lch. 1:22, 29; See ch. 12:1 “How I hated discipline,
and my heartmch. 1:25; See Ps. 107:11 despised reproof!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
or incline my ear to my instructors.
14 n[Ps. 94:17] I am at the brink of utter ruin
in the assembled congregation. ”
15 Drinkover. 18; [ch. 9:17; Song 4:12, 15; Jer. 2:13] water from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well.
16 Should yourpSee Ps. 68:26 springs be scattered abroad,
streams of waterq[Jer. 9:21; Zech. 8:5] in the streets?
17 r[ch. 14:10] Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for strangers with you.
18 Let youro[See ver. 15 above] fountain be blessed,
andsDeut. 24:5 rejoice intMal. 2:14 the wife of your youth,
19 a lovelyuSong 2:9, 17; 8:14 deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breastsv[Jer. 31:14] fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love.
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, withwSee ch. 2:16 a forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom ofwSee ch. 2:16 an adulteress?
21 ForxPs. 119:168 a man's ways areyHos. 7:2; Heb. 4:13; See Job 14:16; Ps. 11:4 before the eyes of the Lord,
and hezver. 6 ponders1Or makes level all his paths.
22 TheaSee Ps. 7:15, 16 iniquities of the wickedbch. 6:2 ensnare him,
and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
23 cSee Job 4:21 He dies for lack of discipline,
and because of his great folly he isd[Job 12:24] led astray.