⁸ Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;
⁹ Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head
And ornaments about your neck.
¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.
¹¹ If they say, “Come with us,
Let us lie in wait for blood,
Let us ambush the innocent without cause;
¹² Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;
¹³ We will find all kinds of precious wealth,
We will fill our houses with spoil;
¹⁴ Throw in your lot with us,
We shall all have one purse,”
¹⁵ My son, do not walk in the way with them.
Keep your feet from their path,
¹⁶ For their feet run to evil
And they hasten to shed blood.
¹⁷ Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net
In the sight of any bird;
¹⁸ But they lie in wait for their own blood;
They ambush their own lives.
¹⁹ So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence;
It takes away the life of its possessors.