passing on the street {at} her corner, and he takes the road [to] her house,

at twilight, at [the] day's evening, in [the] midst of night and the darkness.

Then behold! A woman [comes] to meet him [with the] garment of a prostitute and {a secret heart}.

She is loud and stubborn; her feet do not stay at her house.

She took hold of him and kissed him. Her face was impudent, and she said to him,

So I have come out to meet you, to seek your face, and I have found you.

The bag of money he took in his hand, for [on] the day of the full moon he will come home."

He goes after her suddenly; like an ox to the slaughter he goes, and like a stag to the instruction of a fool,

And now, my children, listen to me, and be attentive to the sayings of my mouth.

May your heart not turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her path.

The ways of Sheol [are] her house, descending to chambers of death.

"To you, O {people}, I call, and my cry is to the children of humankind.

My mouth will utter truth, and wickedness [is] an abomination to my lips.

All of them are straight to him who understands, and upright to those who find knowledge.

[in order] to endow those who love me [with] wealth, and I will fill their treasuries.

{when he assigned} his limits to the sea, that waters shall not transgress his {command}, {when he marked} the foundations of the earth,

I was {beside} him, a master workman, and I was delighting day by day, rejoicing before him {always},

"And now, children, listen to me; happy [are] those who will keep my ways.

Hear teaching and be wise; do not neglect [it].

Happy [is the] person who listens to me, [in order] to keep watch at my doors day by day, [in order] to guard the frames of my entrances.

"Whoever [is] simple, let him turn here." As for the one who lacks {sense}, she says to him,

Do not rebuke a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke the wise and he will love you.

Give to a wise one and he will become more wise; {teach} a righteous one and he will increase learning.

[in order] to call to those who pass by the road, those who go straight [on] their way:

"Whoever is simple, may he turn here!" As for he who lacks {sense}, she says to him,

Treasures of wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.

Yahweh will not cause a righteous person to go hungry, but the craving of the wicked he will thwart.

Blessings [belong] to the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

A heart of wisdom will heed commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

The winking of an eye causes trouble, and the foolishness of lips comes to ruin.

Those who are wise lay up knowledge, but [to] the mouth of the fool, ruin draws near.

The wage of the righteous [leads] to life; the gain of the wicked to sin.

[On] the path to life is he who guards instruction, but he who rejects rebuke goes astray.

Lips of righteousness feed many, but fools {die for lack of sense}.

[It is] like a sport for a fool to do wrong, wisdom for a person of understanding.

Like vinegar to the tooth and like smoke to the eyes, thus [is] the lazy to one who employs him.

The hope of the righteous [is] gladness, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.

A stronghold for the upright is the way of Yahweh, but ruin [belongs] to {evildoers}.

Wealth does not profit on the day of wrath, but righteousness will deliver from death.

With the death of a wicked person, hope will die, and the expectation of the godless perishes.

He will suffer trouble when he loans to a stranger, but he who refuses a pledge is safe.

He who is steadfast in righteousness [is] to life as he who pursues evil [is] to death.

He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who inquires of evil, it will come to him.

He who brings trouble [to] his household, he will inherit wind, and a fool will serve the wise of heart.

It is better to be lowly and a servant {to someone} than self-glorifying and lacking food.

From the fruit of the mouth of a man, he is filled with good, and the reward of {a man's labor} will return to him.

The way of a fool is upright in his [own] eyes, but he who listens to advice [is] wise.

As for a fool, {on that very day} he makes his anger known, but he who ignores an insult [is] prudent.

Deceit [is] in the heart of {those who plan} evil, but to {those who plan} peace, [there is] joy.

{No evil will happen} to the righteous, but the wicked are filled [with] trouble.

The hand of the diligent ones will rule, but the lazy will belong to forced labor.

A wise child [hears] the discipline of a father, but a scoffer does not listen to a rebuke.

He who keeps his mouth guards his life; he who opens his lips, ruin [belongs] to him.

There is one who acts rich but {has nothing}; another who pretends to be poor but [has] wealth.

The light of the righteous will rejoice, but the lamp of the wicked will die out.

The teaching of the wise [is] a fountain of life, [in order] to avoid the snares of death.

Poverty and disgrace [belong to] him who ignores instruction, but he who guards reproof will be honored.

A desire {fulfilled} will be sweet to the soul, but an abomination of fools is turning from evil.

He who is good will leave an inheritance to {his grandchildren}, and stored up for the righteous [is] the wealth of a sinner.

The righteous eats to satisfy his life, but the belly of the wicked will lack.

A scoffer seeks wisdom, but there is none, but knowledge {comes easily to him who understands}.

Leave {the presence of a foolish man}, [for] you will not [come to] know {words of knowledge}.

There is a way [that seems] upright {to} a man, but its end [is] the way of death.

Have they not erred, those who plan evil? But loyalty and faithfulness [belong to] those who plan good.

In all toil, there is profit, but the {talk} of lips [leads] only to poverty.

The fear of Yahweh [is] a fountain of life, [in order] to turn from the snares of death.

[He who is] slow to anger [has] great understanding, but the hasty of spirit exalts folly.

A heart of tranquility [is] life [to the] flesh, but causes bones of passion to rot.

Righteousness will exalt a nation, but sin [is] a reproach to a people.

Severe discipline [belongs] to him who forsakes the way; he who hates a rebuke will die.

A scoffer does not like {his rebuke}; to the wise he will not go.

A man who is hot-tempered will stir up strife, but he who is slow [to] {anger}, he will calm contention.

Folly is a joy to him who lacks {sense}, and a person of understanding {will walk upright}.

Joy [belongs] to a man with answers in his mouth, and a word in its time, how good [it is]!

The path of life [leads] upward for him who has insight, in order to turn away from Sheol below.

The ear of him who listens [to] admonitions of life, in the midst of the wise it will lodge.

To mortals [belong] the plans of the heart, but from Yahweh [comes] the answer of the tongue.

Commit your work to Yahweh, and your plans will be established.

All Yahweh has made [is] for his purpose, and even the wicked for the day of trouble.

When the ways of a man are pleasing [to] Yahweh, even his enemies he will cause to make peace with him.

A balance and scales of justice [belong] to Yahweh; all the weights of the bag [are] his work.

An abomination to kings [is] doing evil, for by righteousness the throne will be established.

He who is attentive to a matter will find goodness, and he who trusts in Yahweh, his own happiness.

Pleasant sayings [are] a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and healing to the bones.

There is a way [that seems] upright {to} a man, but its end [is] the way of death.

A person of violence will entice his neighbor and cause him to walk on a way [that is] not good.

He who winks his eyes [does so in order] to plan perverse things; he who purses his lips will bring evil to pass.

He who is slow to anger [is] better than him who is mighty, and he who controls his spirit than him who captures a city.

He who does evil listens to lips of wickedness, [and] the liar gives heed to the tongue of mischief.

A rebuke strikes him who understands deeper than one hundred blows to a fool.

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, the two of them [are] both abominations of Yahweh.

Why [is] this? A price in the hand of a fool, [in order] to buy wisdom where there is no {sense}.

The wicked will accept a bribe from the lap, [in order] to pervert the ways of justice.

He who understands sets [his] face [toward] wisdom, but the eyes of a fool, to the end of the earth.

A grief to his father [is] the child of a fool, and bitterness to her who bore him.

Also, imposing a fine on the righteous is not good, [nor] to flog nobles for uprightness.

Being partial [to] faces of evil [is] not good, [nor] to subvert the righteous at the judgment.

The mouth of a fool [is] ruin to him, and his lips [are] a snare to his soul.

The words of a whisper [are] like delicious morsels, and they themselves go down [to] inner parts of the body.

Even he who is slack in his work, he is brother to a master of destruction.