A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;

Wisdom shouts in the street,
She lifts her voice in the square;

At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:

If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;

To deliver you from the strange woman,
From the adulteress who flatters with her words;

That leaves the companion of her youth
And forgets the covenant of her God;

For her house sinks down to death
And her tracks lead to the dead;

None who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the paths of life.

For her profit is better than the profit of silver
And her gain better than fine gold.

She is more precious than jewels;
And nothing you desire compares with her.

Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are pleasant ways
And all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who hold her fast.

Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father,
And give attention that you may gain understanding,

“Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.

“Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.

Hear, my son, and accept my sayings
And the years of your life will be many.

Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your life.

For the lips of an adulteress drip honey
And smoother than oil is her speech;

Her feet go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol.

She does not ponder the path of life;
Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

Keep your way far from her
And do not go near the door of her house,

As a loving hind and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be exhilarated always with her love.

Go to the ant, O sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,

Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.

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

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

That they may keep you from an adulteress,
From the foreigner who flatters with her words.

Passing through the street near her corner;
And he takes the way to her house,

She is boisterous and rebellious,
Her feet do not remain at home;

With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her flattering lips she seduces him.

Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,

Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.

For many are the victims she has cast down,
And numerous are all her slain.

Her house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.

Does not wisdom call,
And understanding lift up her voice?

On top of the heights beside the way,
Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

“For wisdom is better than jewels;
And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

Wisdom has built her house,
She has hewn out her seven pillars;

She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine;
She has also set her table;

She has sent out her maidens, she calls
From the tops of the heights of the city:

“Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks understanding she says,

She sits at the doorway of her house,
On a seat by the high places of the city,

“Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,”
And to him who lacks understanding she says,

But he does not know that the dead are there,
That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones.

The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.

Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs,
Rather than a fool in his folly.

A foolish son is a grief to his father
And bitterness to her who bore him.

The glory of young men is their strength,
And the honor of old men is their gray hair.

Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your mind to my knowledge;

Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

For it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,”
Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince,
Whom your eyes have seen.

Like a bird that wanders from her nest,
So is a man who wanders from his home.

He who would restrain her restrains the wind,
And grasps oil with his right hand.

This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wrong.”

Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.

An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.

The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.

She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.

She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.

She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.

She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.

She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.

She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.

She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.

Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.

She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.