¶ My son¹, keep² my words, and lay³ up my commandments with thee.

Keep⁴ my commandments, and live; and my law as the⁵ apple of thine eye.

⁶Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.

Say⁷ unto wisdom, Thou⁸ art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:

⁹That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

¶ For at the¹⁰ window of my house I looked through my casement¹¹,

And beheld among the simple¹² ones, I discerned among the youths¹³, a young man void of understanding,

¹⁴Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

In the twilight¹⁵, in the evening¹⁶, in the black and dark night:

¶ And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire¹⁷ of an harlot, and subtil¹⁸ of heart.

(She is loud¹⁹ and stubborn; her feet²⁰ abide not in her house:

²¹Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

So she²² caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said²³ unto him,

I have peace offerings with me;²⁴ this²⁵ day have I payed my vows.

Therefore came I forth²⁶ to meet²⁷ thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.

I have decked²⁸ my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine²⁹ linen of Egypt.

I have perfumed³⁰ my bed with³¹ myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

Come, let us take our fill of love³² until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves³⁴.

For the goodman³⁵ is not at home, he³⁶ is gone a long journey:

¶ He hath taken a bag of money with him³⁷, and will come home at the day appointed.

With her³⁸ much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced³⁹ him.

He goeth after her straightway⁴⁰, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a⁴¹ fool to the correction⁴² of the stocks;

Till a dart⁴³ strike through his liver; as a bird⁴⁴ hasteth to the snare, and knoweth⁴⁵ not that it is for his life.

¶ Hearken unto me now therefore, O⁴⁶ ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.

Let not thine⁴⁷ heart decline to her ways, go⁴⁸ not astray in her paths.

⁴⁹For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.

⁵⁰Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.