Proverbs 5

1My son, attend to my wisdom, and incline thy ear to my prudence,

Fili mi, attende ad sapientiam meam, et prudentiæ meæ inclina aurem tuam:

2That thou mayst keep thoughts, and thy lips may preserve instruction. Mind not the deceit of a woman.

ut custodias cogitationes, et disciplinam labia tua conservent. Ne attendas fallaciæ mulieris;

3For the lips of a harlot are like a honeycomb dropping, and her throat is smoother than oil.

favus enim distillans labia meretricis, et nitidius oleo guttur ejus:

4But her end is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a two-edged sword.

novissima autem illius amara quasi absinthium, et acuta quasi gladius biceps.

5Her feet go down into death, and her steps go in as far as hell.

Pedes ejus descendunt in mortem, et ad inferos gressus illius penetrant.

6They walk not by the path of life, her steps are wandering, and unaccountable.

Per semitam vitæ non ambulant; vagi sunt gressus ejus et investigabiles.

7Now, therefore, my son, hear me, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

Nunc ergo fili mi, audi me, et ne recedas a verbis oris mei.

8Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the doors of her house.

Longe fac ab ea viam tuam, et ne appropinques foribus domus ejus.

9Give not thy honour to strangers, and thy years to the cruel.

Ne des alienis honorem tuum, et annos tuos crudeli:

10Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, and thy labours be in another man’s house,

ne forte implentur extranei viribus tuis, et labores tui sint in domo aliena,

11And thou mourn at the last, when thou shalt have spent thy flesh and thy body, and say;

et gemas in novissimis, quando consumpseris carnes tuas et corpus tuum, et dicas:

12Why have I hated instruction, and my heart consented not to reproof,

Cur detestatus sum disciplinam, et increpationibus non acquievit cor meum,

13And have not heard the voice of them that taught me, and have not inclined my ear to masters?

nec audivi vocem docentium me, et magistris non inclinavi aurem meam?

14I have almost been in all evil, in the midst of the church and of the congregation.

pene fui in omni malo, in medio ecclesiæ et synagogæ.

15Drink water out of thy own cistern, and the streams of thy own well:

Bibe aquam de cisterna tua, et fluenta putei tui;

16Let thy fountains be conveyed abroad, and in the streets divide thy waters.

deriventur fontes tui foras, et in plateis aquas tuas divide.

17Keep them to thyself alone, neither let strangers be partakers with thee.

Habeto eas solus, nec sint alieni participes tui.

18Let thy vein be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of thy youth:

Sit vena tua benedicta, et lætare cum muliere adolescentiæ tuæ.

19Let her be thy dearest hind, and most agreeable fawn: let her breasts inebriate thee at all times: be thou delighted continually with her love.

Cerva carissima, et gratissimus hinnulus: ubera ejus inebrient te in omni tempore; in amore ejus delectare jugiter.

20Why art thou seduced, my son, by a strange woman, and art cherished in the bosom of another?

Quare seduceris, fili mi, ab aliena, et foveris in sinu alterius?

21The Lord beholdeth the ways of man, and considereth all his steps.

Respicit Dominus vias hominis, et omnes gressus ejus considerat.

22His own iniquities catch the wicked, and he is fast bound with the ropes of his own sins.

Iniquitates suas capiunt impium, et funibus peccatorum suorum constringitur.

23He shall die, because he hath not received instruction, and in the multitude of his folly he shall be deceived.

Ipse morietur, quia non habuit disciplinam, et in multitudine stultitiæ suæ decipietur.