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Wisdom Will Keep You From Adultery

¹ My son, remember my words. Don't forget what I have told you. ² Consider my teaching as precious as your own eyes. Obey my commands, and you will have a good life. ³ Tie them around your finger. Write them on your heart. ⁴ Treat wisdom like the woman you love and knowledge like the one dearest to you. ⁵ Wisdom will save you from that other woman, the other man's wife, who tempts you with such sweet words.

⁶ One day I was looking out my window ⁷ at some foolish teenagers and noticed one who had no sense at all. ⁸ He was walking through the marketplace and came to the corner where a certain woman lived. He then turned up the road that goes by her house. ⁹ The day was ending. The sun had set, and it was almost dark. ¹⁰ Suddenly, there she was in front of him, dressed like a prostitute. She had plans for him. ¹¹ She was a wild and rebellious woman who would not stay at home. ¹² She walked the streets, always looking for someone to trap. ¹³ She grabbed the young man and kissed him. Without shame, she looked him in the eye and said, ¹⁴ "I offered a fellowship offering today. I gave what I promised to give, ¹⁵ and I still have plenty of food left. So I came out to find you, and here you are! ¹⁶ I have clean sheets on my bed—special ones from Egypt. ¹⁷ My bed smells wonderful with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. ¹⁸ Come, let's enjoy ourselves all night. We can make love until dawn. ¹⁹ My husband has gone on a business trip. ²⁰ He took enough money for a long trip and won't be home for two weeks.^[a]"

²¹ This is what the woman said to tempt the young man, and her smooth words tricked him. ²² He followed her, like a bull being led to the slaughter. He was like a deer walking into a trap, ²³ where a hunter waits to shoot an arrow through its heart. The boy was like a bird flying into a net, never seeing the danger he was in.

²⁴ Now, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to what I say. ²⁵ Don't let your heart lead you to an evil woman like that. Don't go where she wants to lead you. ²⁶ She has brought down some of the most powerful men; she has left many dead bodies in her path. ²⁷ Her house is the place of death. The road to it leads straight to the grave.