The Peril of Adultery
1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
1 Lend your ear to my understanding,
‡
2 That you may
1 preserve discretion,
And your lips
a may keep knowledge.
‡
3 a For the lips of
1 an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth
is b smoother than oil;
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4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death,
a Her steps lay hold of
1 hell.
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6 Lest you ponder
her path of life—
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know
them.
7 Therefore hear me now,
my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,
9 Lest you give your
1 honor to others,
And your years to the cruel
one; ‡
10 Lest aliens be filled with your
1 wealth,
And your labors
go to the house of a foreigner;
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11 And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,
12 And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!
13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!
14 I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.
16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
1 Streams of water in the streets?
‡
17 Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
