章 |
5:1 |
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight,
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5:2 |
that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
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5:3 |
For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;
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5:4 |
but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
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5:5 |
Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
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5:6 |
She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not.
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5:7 |
Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.
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5:8 |
Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,
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5:9 |
lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel,
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5:10 |
lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man's house.
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5:11 |
At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.
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5:12 |
You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!
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5:13 |
I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors.
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5:14 |
I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly."
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5:15 |
Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.
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5:16 |
Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
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5:17 |
Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
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5:18 |
May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
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5:19 |
A loving doe, a graceful deer-- may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.
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5:20 |
Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife?
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5:21 |
For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.
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5:22 |
The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.
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5:23 |
He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
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