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Proverbs 4-7
New International Reader's Version
Proverbs 4-7
New International Reader's Version
Get Wisdom at Any Cost
4 My sons, listen to a father’s teaching.
Pay attention and gain understanding.
2 I give you good advice.
So don’t turn away from what I teach you.
3 I, too, was once a young boy in my father’s house.
And my mother loved me deeply.
4 Then my father taught me.
He said to me, “Take hold of my words with all your heart.
Keep my commands, and you will live.
5 Get wisdom, and get understanding.
Don’t forget my words or turn away from them.
6 Stay close to wisdom, and she will keep you safe.
Love her, and she will watch over you.
7 To start being wise you must first get wisdom.
No matter what it costs, get understanding.
8 Value wisdom highly, and she will lift you up.
Hold her close, and she will honor you.
9 She will set a beautiful crown on your head.
She will give you a glorious crown.”
10 My son, listen. Accept what I say.
Then you will live for many years.
11 I instruct you in the way of wisdom.
I lead you along straight paths.
12 When you walk, nothing will slow you down.
When you run, you won’t trip and fall.
13 Hold on to my teaching and don’t let it go.
Guard it well, because it is your life.
14 Don’t take the path of evil people.
Don’t live the way sinners do.
15 Stay away from their path and don’t travel on it.
Turn away from it and go on your way.
16 Sinners can’t rest until they do what is evil.
They can’t sleep until they make someone sin.
17 They do evil just as easily as they eat food.
They hurt others as easily as they drink wine.
18 The path of those who do right is like the sun in the morning.
It shines brighter and brighter until the full light of day.
19 But the way of those who do what is wrong is like deep darkness.
They don’t know what makes them trip and fall.
20 My son, pay attention to what I say.
Listen closely to my words.
21 Don’t let them out of your sight.
Keep them in your heart.
22 They are life to those who find them.
They are health to a person’s whole body.
23 Above everything else, guard your heart.
Everything you do comes from it.
24 Don’t speak with twisted words.
Keep evil talk away from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead.
Keep looking right in front of you.
26 Think carefully about the paths that your feet walk on.
Always choose the right ways.
27 Don’t turn to the right or left.
Keep your feet from the path of evil.
A Warning Against Committing Adultery
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom.
Listen carefully to my wise sayings.
2 Then you will continue to have good sense.
Your lips will keep on speaking words of knowledge.
3 A woman who commits adultery has lips that drip honey.
What she says is smoother than olive oil.
4 But in the end she is like bitter poison.
She cuts like a sword that has two edges.
5 Her feet go down to death.
Her steps lead straight to the grave.
6 She doesn’t give any thought to her way of life.
Her paths have no direction, but she doesn’t realize it.
7 My sons, listen to me.
Don’t turn away from what I say.
8 Stay on a path far away from that evil woman.
Don’t even go near the door of her house.
9 If you do, you will lose your honor to other people.
You will give your self-respect to someone who is mean.
10 Strangers will use up all your wealth.
Your hard work will make someone else rich.
11 At the end of your life you will groan.
Your skin and your body will be worn out.
12 You will say, “How I hated to take advice!
How my heart refused to be corrected!
13 I would not obey my teachers.
I wouldn’t listen to those who taught me.
14 I was soon in deep trouble.
It happened right in front of the whole assembly of God’s people.”
15 Drink water from your own well.
Drink running water from your own spring.
16 Should your springs pour out into the streets?
Should your streams of water pour out in public places?
17 No! Let them belong to you alone.
Never share them with strangers.
18 May your fountain be blessed.
May the wife you married when you were young make you happy.
19 She is like a loving doe, a graceful deer.
May her breasts always satisfy you.
May you always be captured by her love.
20 My son, why be captured by another man’s wife?
Why hug a woman who has gone astray?
21 The Lord watches your ways.
He studies all your paths.
22 Sinners are trapped by their own evil acts.
They are held tight by the ropes of their sins.
23 They will die because they refused to be corrected.
Their sins will capture them because they were very foolish.
Warnings Against Foolish Acts
6 My son, don’t promise to pay for what your neighbor owes.
Don’t agree to pay a stranger’s bill.
2 Don’t be trapped by what you have said.
Don’t be caught by the words of your mouth.
3 Instead, my son, do something to free yourself.
Don’t fall into your neighbor’s hands.
Go until you can’t go anymore.
Don’t let your neighbor rest.
4 Don’t let your eyes go to sleep.
Don’t let your eyelids close.
5 As a deer frees itself from a hunter, free yourself.
As a bird frees itself from a trapper, free yourself.
6 You people who don’t want to work, think about the ant!
Consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander.
It has no leader or ruler.
8 But it stores up its food in summer.
It gathers its food at harvest time.
9 You lazy people, how long will you lie there?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 You might sleep a little or take a little nap.
You might even fold your hands and rest.
11 Then you would be poor, as if someone had robbed you.
You would have little, as if someone had stolen from you.
12 An evil troublemaker
goes around saying twisted things with his mouth.
13 He winks with his eyes.
He makes signals with his feet.
He motions with his fingers.
14 His plans are evil, and he has lies in his heart.
He is always stirring up fights.
15 Trouble will catch up with him in an instant.
He will suddenly be destroyed, and nothing can save him.
16 There are six things the Lord hates.
In fact, he hates seven things.
17 The Lord hates proud eyes,
a lying tongue,
and hands that kill those who aren’t guilty.
18 He also hates hearts that make evil plans
and feet that are quick to do evil.
19 He hates any witness who pours out lies
and anyone who stirs up conflict in the community.
A Warning Against Committing Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s command.
Don’t turn away from your mother’s teaching.
21 Always tie them on your heart.
Put them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you.
When you sleep, they will watch over you.
When you wake up, they will speak to you.
23 Your father’s command is like a lamp.
Your mother’s teaching is like a light.
And whatever instructs and corrects you
leads to life.
24 It keeps you from your neighbor’s wife.
It keeps you from the smooth talk of a woman who commits adultery.
25 Don’t hunger in your heart after her beauty.
Don’t let her eyes capture you.
26 A prostitute can be bought for only a loaf of bread.
But another man’s wife hunts your very life.
27 You can’t shovel fire into your lap
without burning your clothes.
28 You can’t walk on hot coals
without burning your feet.
29 It’s the same for anyone who has sex with another man’s wife.
Anyone who touches her will be punished.
30 People don’t hate a thief who steals
to fill his empty stomach.
31 But when he is caught, he must pay seven times as much as he stole.
It may even cost him everything he has.
32 A man who commits adultery has no sense.
Anyone who does it destroys himself.
33 He will be beaten up and dishonored.
His shame will never be wiped away.
34 Jealousy stirs up a husband’s anger.
He will show no mercy when he gets even.
35 He won’t accept any payment.
He won’t take any money, no matter how much he is offered.
A Warning Against a Woman Who Commits Adultery
7 My son, obey my words.
Store up my commands inside you.
2 Obey my commands and you will live.
Guard my teachings as you would guard your own eyes.
3 Tie them on your fingers.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister.”
Say to understanding, “You are a member of my family.”
5 They will keep you from a woman who commits adultery.
They will keep you from the smooth talk of a sinful wife.
6 I stood at the window of my house.
I looked down through it.
7 Among those who were childish
I saw a young man who had no sense.
8 He went down the street near that sinful woman’s corner.
He walked toward her house.
9 The sun had gone down, and the day was fading.
The darkness of night was falling.
10 A woman came out to meet him.
She was dressed like a prostitute and had a clever plan.
11 She was wild and pushy.
She never stayed at home.
12 Sometimes she’s in the streets. Sometimes she’s at other places.
At every corner she waits.
13 She took hold of the young man and kissed him.
With a bold face she spoke to him. She said,
14 “Today I offered what I promised I would.
At home I have meat left over from my fellowship offering.
15 So I came out to meet you.
I looked for you and have found you!
16 I have covered my bed
with colored sheets from Egypt.
17 I’ve perfumed my bed with spices.
I used myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning.
Let’s enjoy ourselves by sleeping together!
19 My husband isn’t home.
He’s gone on a long journey.
20 He took his bag full of money.
He won’t be home for several days.”
21 She led him astray with her clever words.
She charmed him with her smooth talk.
22 All at once he followed her.
He was like an ox going to be killed.
He was like a deer stepping into a trap
23 until an arrow struck its liver.
He was like a bird rushing into a trap.
Little did he know it would cost him his life!
24 My sons, listen to me.
Pay attention to what I say.
25 Don’t let your hearts turn to her ways.
Don’t step onto her paths.
26 She has brought down a lot of men.
She has killed a huge crowd.
27 Her house is a road to the grave.
It leads down to the place of the dead.
Proverbs 4-7
New International Version
Proverbs 4-7
New International Version
Get Wisdom at Any Cost
4 Listen, my sons,(A) to a father’s instruction;(B)
pay attention and gain understanding.(C)
2 I give you sound learning,
so do not forsake my teaching.
3 For I too was a son to my father,
still tender, and cherished by my mother.
4 Then he taught me, and he said to me,
“Take hold(D) of my words with all your heart;
keep my commands, and you will live.(E)
5 Get wisdom,(F) get understanding;
do not forget my words or turn away from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;(G)
love her, and she will watch over you.(H)
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get[a] wisdom.
Though it cost all(I) you have,[b] get understanding.(J)
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.(K)
9 She will give you a garland to grace your head
and present you with a glorious crown.(L)”
10 Listen, my son,(M) accept what I say,
and the years of your life will be many.(N)
11 I instruct(O) you in the way of wisdom
and lead you along straight paths.(P)
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
when you run, you will not stumble.(Q)
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life.(R)
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
or walk in the way of evildoers.(S)
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
turn from it and go on your way.
16 For they cannot rest until they do evil;(T)
they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.(U)
18 The path of the righteous(V) is like the morning sun,(W)
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.(X)
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;(Y)
they do not know what makes them stumble.(Z)
20 My son,(AA) pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.(AB)
21 Do not let them out of your sight,(AC)
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.(AD)
23 Above all else, guard(AE) your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.(AF)
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes(AG) look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[c] paths for your feet(AH)
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;(AI)
keep your foot from evil.
Warning Against Adultery
5 My son,(AJ) pay attention to my wisdom,
turn your ear to my words(AK) of insight,
2 that you may maintain discretion
and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;(AL)
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,(AM)
sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.(AN)
6 She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.(AO)
7 Now then, my sons, listen(AP) to me;
do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her,(AQ)
do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you lose your honor to others
and your dignity[d] to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich the house of another.(AR)
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!(AS)
13 I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble(AT)
in the assembly of God’s people.”(AU)
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountain(AV) be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.(AW)
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer(AX)—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
21 For your ways are in full view(AY) of the Lord,
and he examines(AZ) all your paths.(BA)
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;(BB)
the cords of their sins hold them fast.(BC)
23 For lack of discipline they will die,(BD)
led astray by their own great folly.(BE)
Warnings Against Folly
6 My son,(BF) if you have put up security(BG) for your neighbor,(BH)
if you have shaken hands in pledge(BI) for a stranger,
2 you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
3 So do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—[e]
and give your neighbor no rest!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.(BJ)
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle(BK) from the hand of the hunter,(BL)
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.(BM)
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;(BN)
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer(BO)
and gathers its food at harvest.(BP)
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?(BQ)
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest(BR)—
11 and poverty(BS) will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.
12 A troublemaker and a villain,
who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13 who winks maliciously with his eye,(BT)
signals with his feet
and motions with his fingers,(BU)
14 who plots evil(BV) with deceit in his heart—
he always stirs up conflict.(BW)
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;(BX)
he will suddenly(BY) be destroyed—without remedy.(BZ)
16 There are six things the Lord hates,(CA)
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,(CB)
a lying tongue,(CC)
hands that shed innocent blood,(CD)
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,(CE)
19 a false witness(CF) who pours out lies(CG)
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.(CH)
Warning Against Adultery
20 My son,(CI) keep your father’s command
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(CJ)
21 Bind them always on your heart;
fasten them around your neck.(CK)
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For this command is a lamp,
this teaching is a light,(CL)
and correction and instruction
are the way to life,(CM)
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.(CN)
25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes.
26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
but another man’s wife preys on your very life.(CO)
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?
29 So is he who sleeps(CP) with another man’s wife;(CQ)
no one who touches her will go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,(CR)
though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adultery(CS) has no sense;(CT)
whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
and his shame will never(CU) be wiped away.
34 For jealousy(CV) arouses a husband’s fury,(CW)
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not accept any compensation;
he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.(CX)
Warning Against the Adulterous Woman
7 My son,(CY) keep my words
and store up my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and you will live;(CZ)
guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.(DA)
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and to insight, “You are my relative.”
5 They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words.(DB)
6 At the window of my house
I looked down through the lattice.
7 I saw among the simple,
I noticed among the young men,
a youth who had no sense.(DC)
8 He was going down the street near her corner,
walking along in the direction of her house
9 at twilight,(DD) as the day was fading,
as the dark of night set in.
10 Then out came a woman to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
11 (She is unruly(DE) and defiant,
her feet never stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the squares,
at every corner she lurks.)(DF)
13 She took hold of him(DG) and kissed him
and with a brazen face she said:(DH)
14 “Today I fulfilled my vows,
and I have food from my fellowship offering(DI) at home.
15 So I came out to meet you;
I looked for you and have found you!
16 I have covered my bed
with colored linens from Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed(DJ)
with myrrh,(DK) aloes and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning;
let’s enjoy ourselves with love!(DL)
19 My husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey.
20 He took his purse filled with money
and will not be home till full moon.”
21 With persuasive words she led him astray;
she seduced him with her smooth talk.(DM)
22 All at once he followed her
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer[f] stepping into a noose[g](DN)
23 till an arrow pierces(DO) his liver,
like a bird darting into a snare,
little knowing it will cost him his life.(DP)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 4:7 Or Wisdom is supreme; therefore get
- Proverbs 4:7 Or wisdom. / Whatever else you get
- Proverbs 4:26 Or Make level
- Proverbs 5:9 Or years
- Proverbs 6:3 Or Go and humble yourself,
- Proverbs 7:22 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew fool
- Proverbs 7:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
Proverbs 4-7
King James Version
Proverbs 4-7
King James Version
4 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
3 For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
5 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
20 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
6 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
12 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
7 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
6 For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
9 In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
13 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
14 I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
20 He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV) 
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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.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.