Study Desk

Drink water from your own cistern, And ^(F1)fresh water from your own well.

Should your ^(C1)springs overflow into the street, Streams of water in the public squares?

Let them be yours alone, And not for strangers with you.

Let your ^(C1)fountain be blessed, And ^(C2)rejoice in the ^(C3)wife of your youth.

Like a loving ^(C1)doe and a graceful mountain goat, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be ^(F1)exhilarated always with her love.

For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an ^(F1)(C1)adulteress, And embrace the breasts of a ^(C2)foreigner?

For the ^(C1)ways of everyone are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ^(C2)observes all his paths.

His ^(C1)own wrongdoings will trap the wicked, And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.

He will ^(C1)die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.

My son, if you have become a ^(C1)guarantor for your neighbor, Or have given a handshake for a stranger,

If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth, Or caught by the words of your mouth,

Then do this, my son, and save yourself: Since you have come into the ^(F1)hand of your neighbor, Go, humble yourself, and be urgent with your neighbor to free yourself.

Give no ^(C1)sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids;

Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand, And like a ^(C1)bird from the hand of the fowler.

Go to the ^(C1)ant, you ^(F1)(C2)lazy one, Observe its ways and be wise,

Which, having ^(C1)no chief, Officer, or ruler,

Prepares its food ^(C1)in the summer And gathers its provision in the harvest.

How long will you lie down, you ^(F1)lazy one? When will you arise from your sleep?

"^(C1)A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to ^(F1)rest,"

^(C1)Then your poverty will come in like a ^(F1)drifter, And your need like ^(F2)an armed man.

A ^(C1)worthless person, a wicked man, Is one who walks with a ^(C2)perverse mouth,

Who ^(C1)winks with his eyes, who ^(F1)signals with his feet, Who ^(F2)points with his fingers;

Who, with ^(C1)perversion in his heart, continually ^(C2)devises evil, Who ^(F1)(C3)spreads strife.

Therefore ^(C1)his disaster will come suddenly; ^(C2)Instantly he will be broken and there will be ^(C3)no healing.

There are six things that the LORD hates, Seven that are an abomination ^(F1)to Him:

^(C1)Haughty eyes, a ^(C2)lying tongue, And hands that ^(C3)shed innocent blood,

A heart that devises ^(C1)wicked plans, ^(C2)Feet that run rapidly to evil,

A ^(C1)false witness who declares lies, And one who ^(F1)(C2)spreads strife among brothers.

^(C1)My son, comply with the commandment of your father, And do not ignore the ^(F1)teaching of your mother;

^(C1)Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.

When you ^(C1)walk, ^(F1)they will guide you; When you sleep, ^(F1)they will watch over you; And when you awake, ^(F1)they will talk to you.

For ^(C1)the commandment is a lamp and the ^(F1)teaching is light; And rebukes for discipline are the way of life

To ^(C1)keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.

^(C1)Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her ^(C2)eyelids.

For ^(C1)the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread, And ^(F1)an adulteress ^(C2)hunts for a precious life.

Can anyone take fire in his lap And his clothes not be burned?

Or can a person walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched?

So is the one who ^(C1)goes in to his neighbor's wife; Whoever touches her ^(C2)will not ^(F1)go unpunished.

People do not despise a thief if he steals To ^(C1)satisfy ^(F1)himself when he is hungry;

But when he is found, he must ^(C1)repay seven times as much; He must give up all the property of his house.

One who commits adultery with a woman is ^(C1)lacking ^(F1)sense; He who would ^(C2)destroy ^(F2)himself commits it.

He will find wounds and disgrace, And his shame will not be removed.

For ^(C1)jealousy ^(F1)enrages a man, And he will not have compassion on the ^(C2)day of vengeance.

He will not ^(F1)accept any settlement, Nor will he be ^(F2)satisfied though you make it a large gift.

My son, ^(C1)keep my words And treasure my commandments within you.

^(C1)Keep my commandments and live, And my ^(F1)teaching ^(C2)as the ^(F2)apple of your eye.

^(C1)Bind them on your fingers; ^(C2)Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," And call understanding your intimate friend,

So that they may keep you from an ^(F1)adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words.

For ^(C1)at the window of my house I looked out ^(C2)through my lattice,

And I saw among the ^(C1)naive, And discerned among the ^(F1)youths A young man ^(C2)lacking ^(F2)sense,

Passing through the street near ^(C1)her corner; And he walks along the way to ^(C2)her house,

In the ^(C1)twilight, in the ^(F1)evening, In the ^(F2)middle of the night and the darkness.

And behold, a woman comes to meet him, ^(C1)Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart.

She is ^(C1)boisterous and rebellious, Her ^(C2)feet do not remain at home;

She is now in the streets, now ^(C1)in the public squares, And ^(C2)lurks by every corner.

So she seizes him and kisses him, ^(F1)And with a ^(C1)brazen face she says to him:

"^(F1)I was due to offer ^(C1)peace offerings; Today I have ^(C2)paid my vows.

-"Therefore I have come out to meet you, To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.

-"I have spread my couch with ^(C1)coverings, With colored ^(C2)linens of Egypt.

-"I have sprinkled my bed With ^(C1)myrrh, aloes, and ^(C2)cinnamon.

-"Come, let's drink our fill of love until morning; Let's delight ourselves with caresses.

-"For ^(F1)my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey.

-"He has taken a ^(C1)bag of money ^(F1)with him. At the full moon he will come home."

With her many persuasions she entices him; With her ^(F1)(C1)flattering lips she seduces him.

Suddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as ^(F1)one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool,

Until an arrow pierces through his liver; As a ^(C1)bird hurries to the snare, So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

Now therefore, my sons, ^(C1)listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth.

Do not let your heart ^(C1)turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths.

For many are the ^(F1)victims she has brought to ruin, And ^(C1)numerous are all those slaughtered by her.

Her ^(C1)house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.

Does not ^(C1)wisdom call, And understanding ^(F1)raise her voice?

On top of ^(C1)the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

Beside the ^(C1)gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

"To you, people, I call, And my voice is to ^(F1)mankind.

-"You ^(C1)naive ones, understand prudence; And, you ^(C2)fools, understand ^(F1)wisdom!

-"Listen, for I will speak ^(C1)noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal ^(C2)right things.

-"For my ^(C1)mouth will proclaim truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

-"All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing ^(C1)crooked or perverted in them.

-"They are all ^(C1)straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who ^(C2)find knowledge.

-"Accept my ^(C1)instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold.

-"For wisdom is ^(C1)better than ^(F1)jewels; And ^(C2)all desirable things cannot compare with her.