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The Talk of a Sinful Woman

¹ My son, keep my words, and hold together my teachings within you. ² Keep my words and live. Keep my teachings as you would your own eye. ³ Tie them upon your fingers. Write them upon your heart. ⁴ Say to wisdom, "You are my sister." Call understanding your special friend. ⁵ They will keep you from the strange woman, from the stranger with her smooth words.

⁶ For I looked out through the wood-work at the window of my house. ⁷ And I saw among the child-like and among the young people a young man without wisdom and understanding. ⁸ He passed through the street near her corner and took the path to her house, ⁹ in the light of the evening, after it was dark. ¹⁰ See, a woman comes to meet him. She is dressed like a woman who sells the use of her body, and with a heart that wants to fool and trap someone. ¹¹ She is loud and has a strong self-will. Her feet do not stay at home. ¹² She is now in the street, now in the center of town where people gather. She lies in wait at every corner. ¹³ So she catches him and kisses him. With a hard face she says to him, ¹⁴ "It was time for me to give gifts on the altar in worship, and today I have paid what I promised. ¹⁵ So I have come out to meet you, to look for you, and I have found you. ¹⁶ I have spread my bed with coverings of linen cloth from Egypt. ¹⁷ I have perfumed my bed with fine perfumes and spices. ¹⁸ Come, let us take our fill of love until morning. Let us make ourselves happy with love. ¹⁹ For my husband is not at home. He has gone on a long trip. ²⁰ He has taken a bag of money with him, and he will come home at full moon."

²¹ She leads him away with her tempting talk. She tempts him with the smooth words of her lips. ²² All at once he follows her, like a bull going to be killed, like a wild animal goes into a trap, ²³ until an arrow cuts through him. Like a bird that hurries into the net, he does not know that he will lose his life.

²⁴ So, my sons, listen to me. Listen to the words of my mouth. ²⁵ Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not turn aside into her paths. ²⁶ For she has hurt many and destroyed many others. She has killed a great number. ²⁷ Her house is the way to hell, going down to the rooms of death.