For her house leads down to death
And her paths lead to the dead;

None that go unto her return again, Neither do they attain unto the paths of life:

So you will walk in the way of good men [that is, those of personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character],
And keep to the paths of the righteous.

For the upright do inhabit the earth, And the perfect are left in it,

My child, do not forget my instruction, and may your heart guard my commands.

For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.
Tie them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.

Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart
And do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

In all your ways give ear to him, and he will make straight your footsteps.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear Yahweh and retreat from evil.

It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Honor Yahweh from your substance, and from the firstfruits of all that will come to you,

My son, do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the Lord [learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline];
Nor despise His rebuke,

For to those who are dear to him the Lord says sharp words, and makes the son in whom he has delight undergo pain.

She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

Maintain your competence and discretion.
My son, don’t lose sight of them.

So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

Then you shall walk in your way securely. Your foot won't stumble.

When you take your rest you will have no fear, and on your bed sleep will be sweet to you.

Do not be afraid of sudden panic, or the storm of wickedness that will come.

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

Do not devise evil against your neighbor,
Who lives securely beside you.

Do not quarrel with anyone without cause, when he did not do you harm.

Do not envy a man of violence
And do not choose any of his ways.

For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.

If the scorners He doth scorn, Yet to the humble He doth give grace.

Honour do the wise inherit, And fools are bearing away shame!

Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

For good learning I have given to you, My law forsake not.

For, a son I have been to my father -- tender, And an only one before my mother.

And he directeth me, and he saith to me: 'Let thy heart retain my words, Keep my commands, and live.

Get wisdom, get understanding, Do not forget, nor turn away From the sayings of my mouth.

Do not forsake her--then she will guard you; love her and she will keep you.

The first sign of wisdom is to get wisdom; go, give all you have to get true knowledge.

Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And years of life are multiplied to thee.

In a way of wisdom I have directed thee, I have caused thee to tread in paths of uprightness.

Lay hold on instruction, do not desist, Keep her, for she is thy life.

In the path of the wicked do not go; do not walk in the way of those who do evil.

Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.

For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

The way of the wicked is like [deep] darkness;
They do not know over what they stumble.

My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

Don’t lose sight of them;
keep them within your heart.

For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly,
and don’t let your lips talk deviously.

Thine eyes do look straightforward, And thine eyelids look straight before thee.

Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:

To observe thoughtfulness, And knowledge do thy lips keep.

But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

She doesn’t consider the path of life;
she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.

And now, ye sons, hearken to me, And turn not from sayings of my mouth.

Keep your paths far from her, and do not go near to the door of her house,

Lest thou give to others thy honour, And thy years to the fierce,

And strangers will be filled with your strength
And your hard-earned wealth will go to the house of a foreigner [who does not know God];

And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

I have come to the brink of utter ruin, in the midst of the gathered assembly."

Let them be to thee for thyself, And not to strangers with thee.

As a loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love.

His own iniquities do capture the wicked, And with the ropes of his sin he is holden.

He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

My child, if you have pledged to your neighbor, [if] you have bound {yourself} to the stranger,

Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

Save thyself as a doe from the hand, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

Which no leader to her, scribe and ruler;

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

Who winks with his eyes [in mockery], who shuffles his feet [to signal],
Who points with his fingers [to give subversive instruction];

These six hath Jehovah hated, Yea, seven are abominations to His soul.

An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

My child, keep [the] commandment of your father, and do not disregard [the] instruction of your mother.

Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

When you walk here and there, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.

For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,
and corrective discipline is the way to life.

To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

Do not desire her beauty in your heart; may she not capture you with her eyelashes.

For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.

May a man take fire to his breast without burning his clothing?

So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;

But when he is found, he must repay seven times [what he stole];
He must give all the property of his house [if necessary to meet his fine].

He who takes another man's wife is without all sense: he who does it is the cause of destruction to his soul.

He will receive a beating and dishonor, and his shame won't disappear,

For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

He will not accept any ransom [offered to buy him off from demanding full punishment];
Nor will he be satisfied though you offer him many gifts (bribes).

Keep my rules and you will have life; let my teaching be to you as the light of your eyes;

Tie them to your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.

Say to wisdom, 'My sister Thou art.' And cry to understanding, 'Kinswoman!'

To preserve thee from a strange woman, From a stranger who hath made smooth her sayings.

And I do see among the simple ones, I discern among the sons, A young man lacking understanding,

Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

In the twilight, in the evening of the day, In the middle of the night and in the darkness.