Proverbs 7-9

New American Standard Bible

⁶ For ^(F)at the window of my house
I looked out ^(G)through my lattice,
⁷ And I saw among the ^(H)naive,
And discerned among the ^[d]youths
A young man ^(I)lacking ^[e]sense,
⁸ Passing through the street near ^(J)her corner;
And he walks along the way to ^(K)her house,
⁹ In the ^(L)twilight, in the ^[f]evening,
In the ^[g]middle of the night and the darkness.
¹⁰ And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
^(M)Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart.
¹¹ She is ^(N)boisterous and rebellious,
Her ^(O)feet do not remain at home;
¹² She is now in the streets, now ^(P)in the public squares,
And ^(Q)lurks by every corner.
¹³ So she seizes him and kisses him,
^[h]And with a ^(R)brazen face she says to him:
¹⁴ “^[i]I was due to offer ^(S)peace offerings;
Today I have ^(T)paid my vows.
¹⁵ Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.
¹⁶ I have spread my couch with ^(U)coverings,
With colored ^(V)linens of Egypt.
¹⁷ I have sprinkled my bed
With ^(W)myrrh, aloes, and ^(X)cinnamon.
¹⁸ Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning;
Let’s delight ourselves with caresses.
¹⁹ For ^[j]my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey.
²⁰ He has taken a ^(Y)bag of money ^[k]with him.
At the full moon he will come home.”
²¹ With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her ^[l](Z)flattering lips she seduces him.
²² Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as ^[m]one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool,
²³ Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a ^(AA)bird hurries to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

²⁴ Now therefore, my sons, ^(AB)listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
²⁵ Do not let your heart ^(AC)turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.
²⁶ For many are the ^[n]victims she has brought to ruin,
And ^(AD)numerous are all those slaughtered by her.
²⁷ Her ^(AE)house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.

¹² “I, wisdom, ^(AT)dwell with prudence,
And I find ^(AU)knowledge and discretion.
¹³ The ^(AV)fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
^(AW)Pride, arrogance, ^(AX)the evil way,
And the ^(AY)perverted mouth, I hate.
^14 (AZ)Advice is mine and ^(BA)sound wisdom;
I am understanding, ^(BB)power is mine.
¹⁵ By me ^(BC)kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
¹⁶ By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
¹⁷ I ^(BD)love those who love me;
And ^(BE)those who diligently seek me will find me.
^18 (BF)Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring ^(BG)wealth and righteousness.
¹⁹ My fruit is ^(BH)better than gold, even pure gold;
And my yield better than ^(BI)choice silver.
²⁰ I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
²¹ To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may ^(BJ)fill their treasuries.

²² “The Lord ^[s]created me ^(BK)at the beginning of His way,
Before His works ^[t]of old.
²³ From eternity I was ^[u](BL)established,
From the beginning, ^(BM)from the earliest times of the earth.
²⁴ When there were no ^(BN)ocean depths, I was born,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
^25 (BO)Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was born;
²⁶ While He had not yet made the earth and the ^[v]fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
²⁷ When He ^(BP)established the heavens, I was there;
When ^(BQ)He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
²⁸ When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became ^[w]fixed,
²⁹ When ^(BR)He set a boundary for the sea
So that the water would not violate His ^[x]command,
When He marked out ^(BS)the foundations of the earth;
³⁰ Then ^(BT)I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was His delight daily,
^[y]Rejoicing always before Him,
^31 [z]Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having ^(BU)my delight in the sons of mankind.

³² “Now then, sons, ^(BV)listen to me,
For ^(BW)blessed are those who keep my ways.
^33 (BX)Listen to instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
^34 (BY)Blessed is the person who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.
³⁵ For ^(BZ)one who finds me finds life,
And ^(CA)obtains favor from the Lord.
³⁶ But one who ^[aa]sins against me ^(CB)injures himself;
All those who ^(CC)hate me ^(CD)love death.”

⁷ One who ^(CQ)corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself,
And one who rebukes a wicked person gets ^[ae]insults for himself.
^8 (CR)Do not rebuke a scoffer, or he will hate you;
^(CS)Rebuke a wise person and he will love you.
⁹ Give instruction to a wise person and he will become still wiser;
Teach a righteous person and he will ^(CT)increase his insight.
¹⁰ The ^(CU)fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
¹¹ For ^(CV)by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.
¹² If you are wise, you are wise ^(CW)for yourself,
And if you ^(CX)scoff, you alone will ^[af]suffer from it.

^13 [ag]A woman of foolishness is ^(CY)boisterous,
She has a lack of understanding and ^(CZ)knows nothing.
¹⁴ She sits at the doorway of her house,
On a seat by ^(DA)the high places of the city,
¹⁵ Calling to those who pass by,
Who are going straight on their paths:
¹⁶ “^(DB)Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,”
And to him who lacks ^[ah]understanding she says,
¹⁷ “Stolen water is sweet;
And ^(DC)bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
¹⁸ But he does not know that the ^[ai]dead are there,
That her guests are in the ^(DD)depths of Sheol.