New Living Translation
Proverbs • Chapter 7
1
Follow my advice, my son;<br>always treasure my commands.<br>
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Obey my commands and live!<br>Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.<br>
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Tie them on your fingers as a reminder.<br>Write them deep within your heart.<br>
4
Love wisdom like a sister;<br>make insight a beloved member of your family.<br>
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Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman,<br>from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.<br>
6
While I was at the window of my house,<br>looking through the curtain,<br>
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I saw some naive young men,<br>and one in particular who lacked common sense.<br>
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He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman,<br>strolling down the path by her house.<br>
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It was at twilight, in the evening,<br>as deep darkness fell.<br>
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The woman approached him,<br>seductively dressed and sly of heart.<br>
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She was the brash, rebellious type,<br>never content to stay at home.<br>
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She is often in the streets and markets,<br>soliciting at every corner.<br>
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She threw her arms around him and kissed him,<br>and with a brazen look she said,<br>
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“I’ve just made my peace offerings<br>and fulfilled my vows.<br>
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You’re the one I was looking for!<br>I came out to find you, and here you are!<br>
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My bed is spread with beautiful blankets,<br>with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.<br>
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I’ve perfumed my bed<br>with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.<br>
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Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning.<br>Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,<br>
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for my husband is not home.<br>He’s away on a long trip.<br>
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He has taken a wallet full of money with him<br>and won’t return until later this month. ”<br>
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So she seduced him with her pretty speech<br>and enticed him with her flattery.<br>
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He followed her at once,<br>like an ox going to the slaughter.<br>He was like a stag caught in a trap,<br>
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awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart.<br>He was like a bird flying into a snare,<br>little knowing it would cost him his life.<br>
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So listen to me, my sons,<br>and pay attention to my words.<br>
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Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her.<br>Don’t wander down her wayward path.<br>
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For she has been the ruin of many;<br>many men have been her victims.<br>
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Her house is the road to the grave.<br>Her bedroom is the den of death.<br>