New International Version | International Standard Version |
1My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, | 1My son, pay attention to my wisdom, and listen closely to my insight, |
2that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. | 2so you may carefully practice discretion and your lips preserve knowledge. |
3For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; | 3For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil. |
4but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. | 4But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a double-edged sword. |
5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. | 5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead to Sheol. |
6She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it. | 6You aren't thinking about where her life is headed; her steps wander, but you do not realize it. |
7Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. | 7Now, children, listen to me. Don't turn away from what I am saying. |
8Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, | 8Keep far away from her, and don't go near the entrance to her house, |
9lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel, | 9so that you don't give your honor to others, and waste your best years; |
10lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another. | 10so that strangers don't enrich themselves at your expense, and your work won't end up the possession of foreigners. |
11At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. | 11You will cry out in anguish when your end comes, when your flesh and body are consumed, |
12You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! | 12and you will say, "How I hated instruction, and my heart rejected correction! |
13I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors. | 13I did not obey my teachers and did not listen to my instructors. |
14And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God's people." | 14Now I am at the point of utter disaster in the assembly and in the congregation." |
15Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. | 15Drink water from your own cistern, and fresh water from your own well. |
16Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? | 16Should your springs flow outside, or streams of water in the street? |
17Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. | 17They should be for you alone and not for strangers who are with you. |
18May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. | 18Let your fountain be blessed and enjoy the wife of your youth. |
19A loving doe, a graceful deer-- may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. | 19Like a loving deer, a beautiful doe, let her breasts satisfy you all the time. Be constantly intoxicated by her love. |
20Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man's wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman? | 20Why should you be intoxicated by an adulteress, my son, and embrace the bosom of a foreign woman? |
21For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths. | 21Indeed, what a man does is always in the LORD's presence, and he weighs all his paths. |
22The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. | 22The wicked person's iniquities will capture him, and he will be held with the cords of his sin. |
23For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly. | 23He will die for lack of discipline, and he goes astray because of his great folly. |
New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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