51 My son , give attention to my wisdom , Incline your ear to my understanding ; 2 That you may observe discretion And your lips may reserve knowledge . 3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey And smoother than oil is her speech ; 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood , Sharp as a two-edged sword . 5 Her feet go down to death , Her steps take hold of Sheol . 6 She does not ponder the path of life ; Her ways are unstable , she does not know it. 7 Now then, my sons , listen to me And do not depart from the words of my mouth . 8 Keep your way far from her And do not go near the door of her house , 9 Or you will give your vigor to others And your years to the cruel one ; 10 And strangers will be filled with your strength And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien ; 11 And you groan at your final end , When your flesh and your body are consumed ; 12 And you say , "How I have hated instruction ! And my heart spurned reproof ! 13 "I have not listened to the voice of my teachers , Nor inclined my ear to my instructors ! 14 "I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation ."
15 Drink water from your own cistern And fresh water from your own well . 16 Should your springs be dispersed abroad , Streams of water in the streets ? 17 Let them be yours alone And not for strangers with you. 18 Let your fountain be blessed , And rejoice in the wife of your youth . 19 As a loving hind and a graceful doe , Let her breasts satisfy you at all times ; Be exhilarated always with her love . 20 For why should you, my son , be exhilarated with an adulteress And embrace the bosom of a foreigner ? 21 For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord , And He watches all his paths . 22 His own iniquities will capture the wicked , And he will be held with the cords of his sin . 23 He will die for lack of instruction , And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray .
