The Wiles of a Harlot

71 My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee. 2 Keep my commandments and live; And my law as the apple of thine eye. 3 Bind them upon thy fingers; Write them upon the tablet of thy heart. 4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; And call understanding [thy] kinswoman: 5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From he foreigner that flattereth with her words.

6 For at the window of my house I looked forth through my lattice; 7 And I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, A young man void of understanding, 8 Passing through the street near her corner; And he went the way to her house, 9 In the twilight, in the evening of the day, In the middle of the night and in the darkness. 10 And, behold, there met him a woman With the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart. 11 She is clamorous and wilful; Her feet abide not in her house: 12 Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places, And lieth in wait at every corner. 13 So she caught him, and kissed him, [And] with an impudent face she said unto him: 14 Sacrifices of peace-offerings are with me; This day have I paid my vows. 15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. 16 I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, With striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt. 17 I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; Let us solace ourselves with loves. 19 For the man is not at home; He is gone a long journey: 20 He hath taken a bag of money with him; He will come home at the full moon. 21 With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield; With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along. 22 He goeth after her straightway, As an ox goeth to the slaughter, Or as [one in] fetters to the correction of the fool; 23 Till an arrow strike through his liver; As a bird hasteth to the snare, And knoweth not that it is for his life.

24 Now therefore, [my] sons, hearken unto me, And attend to the words of my mouth. 25 Let not thy heart decline to her ways; Go not astray in her paths. 26 For she hath cast down many wounded: Yea, all her slain are a mighty host. 27 Her house is the way to Sheol, Going down to the chambers of death.

The Excellence and Eternity of Wisdom

81 Doth not wisdom cry, And understanding put forth her voice? 2 On the top of high places by the way, Where the paths meet, she standeth; 3 Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, At the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud: 4 Unto you, O men, I call; And my voice is to the sons of men. 5 O ye simple, understand prudence; And, ye fools, be of an understanding heart. 6 Hear, for I will speak excellent things; And the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7 For my mouth shall utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverse in them. 9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, And right to them that find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; And knowledge rather than choice gold. 11 For wisdom is better than rubies; And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto it.

12 I wisdom have made prudence my dwelling, And find out knowledge [and] discretion. 13 The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil: Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, And the perverse mouth, do I hate. 14 Counsel is mine, and sound knowledge: I am understanding; I have might. 15 By me kings reign, And princes decree justice. 16 By me princes rule, And nobles, [even] all the judges of the earth. 17 I love them that love me; And those that seek me diligently shall find me. 18 Riches and honor are with me; [Yea], durable wealth and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; And my revenue than choice silver. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice; 21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, And that I may fill their treasuries.

22 Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Before the earth was. 24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills was I brought forth; 26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there: When he set a circle upon the face of the deep, 28 When he made firm the skies above, When the fountains of the deep became strong, 29 When he gave to the sea its bound, That the waters should not transgress his commandment, When he marked out the foundations of the earth; 30 Then I was by him, [as] a master workman; And I was daily [his] delight, Rejoicing always before him, 31 Rejoicing in his habitable earth; And my delight was with the sons of men.

32 Now therefore, [my] sons, hearken unto me; For blessed are they that keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction, and be wise, And refuse it not. 34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. 35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, And shall obtain favor of Jehovah. 36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: All they that hate me love death.

Wisdom and the Foolish Woman

91 Wisdom hath builded her house; She hath hewn out her seven pillars: 2 She hath killed her beasts; She hath mingled her wine; She hath also furnished her table: 3 She hath sent forth her maidens; She crieth upon the highest places of the city: 4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: As for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him, 5 Come, eat ye of my bread, And drink of the wine which I have mingled. 6 Leave off, ye simple ones, and live; And walk in the way of understanding. 7 He that correcteth a scoffer getteth to himself reviling; And he that reproveth a wicked man [getteth] himself a blot. 8 Reprove not a scoffer, lest he hate thee: Reprove a wise man, and he will love thee. 9 Give [instruction] to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. 10 The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, And the years of thy life shall be increased. 12 If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself; And if thou scoffest, thou alone shalt bear it.

13 The foolish woman is clamorous; [She is] simple, and knoweth nothing. 14 And she sitteth at the door of her house, On a seat in the high places of the city, 15 To call to them that pass by, Who go right on their ways: 16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither; And as for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him, 17 Stolen waters are sweet, And bread [eaten] in secret is pleasant. 18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.