^8 (I)Hear, my son, your father's instruction,
    and forsake not your mother's teaching,
⁹ for they are ^(J)a graceful garland for your head
    and ^(K)pendants for your neck.
¹⁰ My son, if sinners ^(L)entice you,
    do not consent.
¹¹ If they say, “Come with us, ^(M)let us lie in wait for blood;
    ^(N)let us ambush the innocent without reason;
¹² like Sheol let us ^(O)swallow them alive,
    and whole, like ^(P)those who go down to the pit;
¹³ we shall find all precious goods,
    we shall fill our houses with plunder;
¹⁴ throw in your lot among us;
    we will all have one purse”—
¹⁵ my son, ^(Q)do not walk in the way with them;
    ^(R)hold back your foot from their paths,
¹⁶ for ^(S)their feet run to evil,
    and they make haste to shed blood.
^17 (T)For in vain is a net spread
    in the sight of any bird,
¹⁸ but these men ^(U)lie in wait for their own blood;
    they ^(V)set an ambush for their own lives.
^19 (W)Such are the ways of everyone who is ^(X)greedy for unjust gain;
    ^(Y)it takes away the life of its possessors.

^20 (Z)Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
    in the markets she raises her voice;
²¹ at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
    at ^(AA)the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
²² “How long, O ^(AB)simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will ^(AC)scoffers delight in their scoffing
    and fools ^(AD)hate knowledge?
²³ If you turn at my reproof,^[a]
behold, I will ^(AE)pour out my spirit to you;
    I will make my words known to you.
^24 (AF)Because I have called and ^(AG)you refused to listen,
    have ^(AH)stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
²⁵ because you have ^(AI)ignored all my counsel
    and ^(AJ)would have none of my reproof,
²⁶ I also ^(AK)will laugh at your calamity;
    I will mock when ^(AL)terror strikes you,
²⁷ when terror strikes you like ^(AM)a storm
    and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
    when distress and anguish come upon you.
^28 (AN)Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
    they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
²⁹ Because they ^(AO)hated knowledge
    and ^(AP)did not choose the fear of the Lord,
^30 (AQ)would have none of my counsel
    and ^(AR)despised all my reproof,
³¹ therefore they shall eat ^(AS)the fruit of their way,
    and have ^(AT)their fill of their own devices.
³² For the simple are killed by ^(AU)their turning away,
    and ^(AV)the complacency of fools destroys them;
³³ but ^(AW)whoever listens to me will dwell secure
    and will be ^(AX)at ease, without dread of disaster.”

6 My son, if you have put up ^(A)security for your neighbor,
    have ^(B)given your pledge for a stranger,
² if you are ^(C)snared in the words of your mouth,
    caught in the words of your mouth,
³ then do this, my son, and save yourself,
    for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
    go, hasten,^[a] and ^(D)plead urgently with your neighbor.
^4 (E)Give your eyes no sleep
    and your eyelids no slumber;
⁵ save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,^{[b]
    (F)}like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

^20 (AM)My son, keep your father's commandment,
    ^(AN)and forsake not your mother's teaching.
^21 (AO)Bind them on your heart always;
    ^(AP)tie them around your neck.
^22 (AQ)When you walk, they^[d] will lead you;
    ^(AR)when you lie down, they will ^(AS)watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.
²³ For the commandment is ^(AT)a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the ^(AU)reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
²⁴ to preserve you from the evil woman,^[e]
    from the smooth tongue of ^(AV)the adulteress.^[f]
25 (AW)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her ^(AX)eyelashes;
²⁶ for ^(AY)the price of a prostitute is only ^(AZ)a loaf of bread,^[g]
    but a married woman^{[h] (BA)}hunts down a precious life.
²⁷ Can a man carry ^(BB)fire next to his ^(BC)chest
    and his clothes not be burned?
²⁸ Or can one ^(BD)walk on hot coals
    and his feet not be scorched?
²⁹ So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
    none who touches her ^(BE)will go unpunished.
³⁰ People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to ^(BF)satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
³¹ but ^(BG)if he is caught, he will pay ^(BH)sevenfold;
    he will give all the goods of his house.
³² He who commits adultery lacks sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.
³³ He will get wounds and dishonor,
    and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
³⁴ For ^(BI)jealousy makes a man furious,
    and he will not spare when ^(BJ)he takes revenge.
³⁵ He will accept no compensation;
    he will refuse though you multiply gifts.