| New King James Version | English Standard Version |
| 1My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding, | 1My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, |
| 2That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge. | 2that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. |
| 3For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; | 3For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, |
| 4But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. | 4but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. |
| 5Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell. | 5Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; |
| 6Lest you ponder her path of life— Her ways are unstable; You do not know them. | 6she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. |
| 7Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth. | 7And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. |
| 8Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house, | 8Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, |
| 9Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one; | 9lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, |
| 10Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner; | 10lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, |
| 11And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed, | 11and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, |
| 12And say: “How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! | 12and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! |
| 13I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! | 13I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. |
| 14I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation.” | 14I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” |
| 15Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. | 15Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. |
| 16Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? | 16Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? |
| 17Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. | 17Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. |
| 18Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. | 18Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, |
| 19As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. | 19a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. |
| 20For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? | 20Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? |
| 21For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths. | 21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths. |
| 22His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin. | 22The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. |
| 23He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. | 23He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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