20My son, observe the commandment of your father
         And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;

21Bind them continually on your heart;
         Tie them around your neck.

22When you walk about, they will guide you;
         When you sleep, they will watch over you;
         And when you awake, they will talk to you.

23For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light;
         And reproofs for discipline are the way of life

24To keep you from the evil woman,
         From the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

25Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
         Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.

26For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,
         And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.

27Can a man take fire in his bosom
         And his clothes not be burned?

28Or can a man walk on hot coals
         And his feet not be scorched?

29So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
         Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.

30Men do not despise a thief if he steals
         To satisfy himself when he is hungry;

31But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold;
         He must give all the substance of his house.

32The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense;
         He who would destroy himself does it.

33Wounds and disgrace he will find,
         And his reproach will not be blotted out.

34For jealousy enrages a man,
         And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

35He will not accept any ransom,
         Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts.

NASB ©1995