Warning against Adultery

1My child, pay attention and listen to my wisdom and insight. 2Then you will know how to behave properly, and your words will show that you have knowledge. 3The lips of another man's wife may be as sweet as honey and her kisses as smooth as olive oil, 4but when it is all over, she leaves you nothing but bitterness and pain. 5She will take you down to the world of the dead; the road she walks is the road to death. 6She does not stay on the road to life; but wanders off, and does not realize what is happening.

7Now listen to me, sons, and never forget what I am saying. 8Keep away from such a woman! Don't even go near her door! 9If you do, others will gain the respect that you once had, and you will die young at the hands of merciless people. 10Yes, strangers will take all your wealth, and what you have worked for will belong to someone else. 11You will lie groaning on your deathbed, your flesh and muscles being eaten away, 12and you will say, “Why would I never learn? Why would I never let anyone correct me? 13I wouldn't listen to my teachers. I paid no attention to them. 14And suddenly I found myself+ publicly disgraced.”

15Be faithful to your own wife and give your love to her alone. 16Children that you have by other women will do you no good. 17Your children should grow up to help you, not strangers. 18So be happy with your wife and find your joy with the woman you married— 19pretty and graceful as a deer. Let her charms keep you happy; let her surround you with her love. 20Son, why should you give your love to another woman? Why should you prefer the charms of another man's wife? 21The Lord sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching. 22The sins of the wicked are a trap. They get caught in the net of their own sin. 23They die because they have no self-control. Their utter stupidity will send them to their graves.