61 My son, if you have made yourself responsible for your neighbour, or given your word for another, 2 You are taken as in a net by the words of your mouth, the sayings of your lips have overcome you. 3 Do this, my son, and make yourself free, because you have come into the power of your neighbour; go without waiting, and make a strong request to your neighbour. 4 Give no sleep to your eyes, or rest to them; 5 Make yourself free, like the roe from the hand of the archer, and the bird from him who puts a net for her.
6 Go to the ant, you hater of work; give thought to her ways and be wise: 7 Having no chief, overseer, or ruler, 8 She gets her meat in the summer, storing up food at the time of the grain-cutting. 9 How long will you be sleeping, O hater of work? when will you get up from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little rest, a little folding of the hands in sleep: 11 Then loss will come on you like an outlaw, and your need like an armed man
12 A good-for-nothing man is an evil-doer; he goes on his way causing trouble with false words; 13 Making signs with his eyes, rubbing with his feet, and giving news with his fingers; 14 His mind is ever designing evil: he lets loose violent acts. 15 For this cause his downfall will be sudden; quickly he will be broken, and there will be no help for him. 16 Six things are hated by the Lord; seven things are disgusting to him: 17 Eyes of pride, a false tongue, hands which take life without cause; 18 A heart full of evil designs, feet which are quick in running after sin; 19 A false witness, breathing out untrue words, and one who lets loose violent acts among brothers.
20 My son, keep the rule of your father, and have in memory the teaching of your mother: 21 Keep them ever folded in your heart, and have them hanging round your neck. 22 In your walking, it will be your guide; when you are sleeping, it will keep watch over you; when you are awake, it will have talk with you. 23 For the rule is a light, and the teaching a shining light; and the guiding words of training are the way of life. 24 They will keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the strange woman. 25 Let not your heart's desire go after her fair body; let not her eyes take you prisoner. 26 For a loose woman is looking for a cake of bread, but another man's wife goes after one's very life. 27 May a man take fire to his breast without burning his clothing? 28 Or may one go on lighted coals, and his feet not be burned? 29 So it is with him who goes in to his neighbour's wife; he who has anything to do with her will not go free from punishment. 30 Men do not have a low opinion of a thief who takes food when he is in need of it: 31 But if he is taken in the act he will have to give back seven times as much, giving up all his property which is in his house. 32 He who takes another man's wife is without all sense: he who does it is the cause of destruction to his soul. 33 Wounds will be his and loss of honour, and his shame may not be washed away. 34 For bitter is the wrath of an angry husband; in the day of punishment he will have no mercy. 35 He will not take any payment; and he will not make peace with you though your money offerings are increased.
71 My son, keep my sayings, and let my rules be stored up with you. 2 Keep my rules and you will have life; let my teaching be to you as the light of your eyes; 3 Let them be fixed to your fingers, and recorded in your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, You are my sister; let knowledge be named your special friend: 5 So that they may keep you from the strange woman, even from her whose words are smooth.
6 Looking out from my house, and watching through the window, 7 I saw among the young men one without sense, 8 Walking in the street near the turn of her road, going on the way to her house, 9 At nightfall, in the evening of the day, in the black dark of the night. 10 And the woman came out to him, in the dress of a loose woman, with a designing heart; 11 She is full of noise and uncontrolled; her feet keep not in her house. 12 Now she is in the street, now in the open spaces, waiting at every turning of the road. 13 So she took him by his hand, kissing him, and without a sign of shame she said to him: 14 I have a feast of peace-offerings, for today my oaths have been effected. 15 So I came out in the hope of meeting you, looking for you with care, and now I have you. 16 My bed is covered with cushions of needlework, with coloured cloths of the cotton thread of Egypt; 17 I have made my bed sweet with perfumes and spices. 18 Come, let us take our pleasure in love till the morning, having joy in love's delights. 19 For the master of the house is away on a long journey: 20 He has taken a bag of money with him; he is coming back at the full moon. 21 With her fair words she overcame him, forcing him with her smooth lips. 22 The simple man goes after her, like an ox going to its death, like a roe pulled by a cord; 23 Like a bird falling into a net; with no thought that his life is in danger, till an arrow goes into his side.
24 So now, my sons, give ear to me; give attention to the sayings of my mouth; 25 Let not your heart be turned to her ways, do not go wandering in her footsteps. 26 For those wounded and made low by her are great in number; and all those who have come to their death through her are a great army. 27 Her house is the way to the underworld, going down to the rooms of death.
21 But it was my decision for myself, not to come again to you with sorrow. 2 For if I give you sorrow, who then will make me glad, but he who is made sad by me? 3 And I said this very thing in my letter, for fear that when I came I might have sorrow from those from whom it was right for me to have joy; being certain of this, that my joy is the joy of you all. 4 For out of much trouble and pain of heart and much weeping I sent my letter to you; not to give you sorrow, but so that you might see how great is the love which I have to you.
5 But if anyone has been a cause of sorrow, he has been so, not to me only, but in some measure to all of you (I say this that I may not be over-hard on you). 6 Let it be enough for such a man to have undergone the punishment which the church put on him; 7 So that now, on the other hand, it is right for him to have forgiveness and comfort from you, for fear that his sorrow may be over-great. 8 For which cause my desire is that you will make your love to him clear by your acts. 9 And for the same reason I sent you a letter so that I might be certain of your desire to do my orders in all things. 10 But if you give forgiveness to anyone, I do the same: for if I have given forgiveness for anything, I have done it because of you, in the person of Christ; 11 So that Satan may not get the better of us: for we are not without knowledge of his designs.
12 Now when I came to Troas for the good news of Christ, and there was an open door for me in the Lord, 13 I had no rest in my spirit because Titus my brother was not there: so I went away from them, and came into Macedonia.
14 But praise be to God who makes us strong to overcome in Christ, and makes clear through us in every place the value of the knowledge of him. 15 For we are a sweet perfume of Christ to God in those who are getting salvation and in those who are going to destruction; 16 To the one it is a perfume of death to death; to the other a perfume of life to life. And who is enough for such things? 17 For we are not like the great number who make use of the word of God for profit: but our words are true, as from God, being said as before God in Christ.
