My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

My son, heed My words, and store up My mitzvoth with you.

Keep my commandments, and live; and my Tora as the apple of thy eye.

Heed my mitzvoth and live, and My Torah as the pupil of your eye.

Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the tablet of thy heart.

Tie them on your fingers; inscribe them on the tablet of your heart.

Say to wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:

Say to wisdom: "You are my sister," and call understanding your kin.

that they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the alien woman who makes smooth her words.

To guard you from a strange woman, from the foreign woman who smooths over her words.

For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice,

For from the window of my house, through my lattice, I looked out.

and beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,

And I saw among the simple, I discerned among the boys, a youth void of understanding.

passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

Passing in the market-place near her corner, walking by her house.

in the twilight, in the evening, in the blackness of a dark night:

In the darkness, in the eve of day, in the heart of night and pitch darkness.

and, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart.

And, behold, a woman came before him, in the nakedness of a harlot and her heart besieged [(by lewdness)].

(She is noisy and ungovernable: her feet do not remain in her house:

Moaning [in enticement] and straying [(from the path)], her feet not frequenting her house.

now is she outside, now in the streets, and she lies in wait at every corner.)

Sometimes in the courtyard, sometimes in the streets — she lurks at every corner.

So she caught hold of him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said to him,

And she seized him and kissed him; she thrust forth her face and said to him:

I have had to sacrifice peace offerings; this day have I paid my vows.

I have prepared a great feast, [for] today I have paid my vows [i.e., I have sacrificed my vow-offerings and my peace-offerings.]

So I came out to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.

That is why I have gone out to you, to look for you and to find you.

I have decked my bed with coverings, with tapestry of Miżrian yarn.

I have decked my bed with spreads, braided with Egyptian yarns.

I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

I have scented my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us delight ourselves with loves.

Come, let us sate ourselves with love until the morning; let us rejoice in love-making.

For my husband is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

For the Man is not at home [(You see that G-d has removed His shechinah and has given all of His good to the idolators.)]

he has taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the full moon.

He has taken the money-pouch with him [i.e., He has killed the best of them]; He will [not] come home until the appointed time.

With her much fair speech she causes him to yield, with the smoothness of her lips she seduces him.

She has led him astray with her store of sophistication; she has felled him with the smoothness of her lips.

He goes after her at once, as an ox goes to the slaughter, and as a man in chains to the chastisement of a fool;

Suddenly, he goes after her; as an ox to the slaughter he comes, as [a snake spewing] venom [speeding] to the chastisement of a fool.

till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, and knows not that it is for his life.

— Until [her] arrow splits his liver. [He is] as a bird racing to the trap, not knowing that it will cost him his life.

Hearken to me now therefore, O you children, and attend to the words of my mouth.

And now, [my] sons, listen to me, and heed the words of my mouth.

Let not thy heart decline to her ways, do not go astray in her paths.

Do not incline your heart to her ways; do not stray in her paths.

For she has cast down many wounded: and many strong men have been slain by her.

For she has taken many lives; the number of her victims is legion.

Her house is the way to She᾽ol, going down to the chambers of death.

Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.