Chapter 7

My son, keep³ my words, and lay up⁴ my commandments with thee.

Keep³ my commandments, and live;³ and my law as the apple of thine eye.

Bind³ them upon thy fingers, write³ them upon the table of thine heart.

Say³ unto wisdom, Thou [art] my sister; and call⁴ understanding [thy] kinswoman:

That they may keep² thee from the strange⁵ woman, from the stranger [which] flattereth⁵² with her words.

For at the window of my house I looked⁸ through my casement,

And beheld⁴ among the simple ones, I discerned⁴ among the youths, a young man void of understanding,

Passing⁶ through the street near her corner; and he went⁴ the way to her house,

In the twilight, in the evening, ⁶¹⁵³ in the black and dark night:

And, behold, there met² him a woman [with] the attire of an harlot,⁶ and subtil⁷ of heart.

(She [is] loud⁶ and stubborn;⁶ her feet abide⁴ not in her house:

Now [is she] without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait⁴ at every corner.)

So she caught⁵² him, and kissed¹ him, [and] with an impudent⁵² face said⁴ unto him,

[I have] peace offerings with me; this day have I payed¹⁴ my vows.

Therefore came I forth¹ to meet² thee, diligently to seek¹⁵ thy face, and I have found⁴ thee.

I have decked¹ my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved [works], with fine linen of Egypt.

I have perfumed¹ my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

Come,³ let us take our fill⁴ of love until the morning: let us solace¹⁰¹ ourselves with loves.

For the goodman [is] not at home, he is gone¹ a long journey:

He hath taken¹ a bag of money with him, [and] will come⁴ home at the day appointed.

With her much fair speech she caused him to yield,⁵² with the flattering of her lips she forced⁵⁵ him.

He goeth⁶ after her straightway, as an ox goeth⁴ to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;

Till a dart strike through¹⁷ his liver; as a bird hasteth¹⁵ to the snare, and knoweth¹ not that it [is] for his life.

Hearken³ unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend⁵⁴ to the words of my mouth.

Let not thine heart decline⁴ to her ways, go not astray⁴ in her paths.

For she hath cast down⁵² many wounded: yea, many strong [men] have been slain⁷ by her.

Her house [is] the way to hell, going down⁶ to the chambers of death.