Proverbs 7 (NLT)

¹ Follow my advice, my son;
always treasure my commands.
² Obey my commands and live!
Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.
³ Tie them on your fingers as a reminder.
Write them deep within your heart.

⁴ Love wisdom like a sister;
make insight a beloved member of your family.
⁵ Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman,
from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.

⁶ While I was at the window of my house,
looking through the curtain,
⁷ I saw some naive young men,
and one in particular who lacked common sense.
⁸ He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman,
strolling down the path by her house.
⁹ It was at twilight, in the evening,
as deep darkness fell.
¹⁰ The woman approached him,
seductively dressed and sly of heart.
¹¹ She was the brash, rebellious type,
never content to stay at home.
¹² She is often in the streets and markets,
soliciting at every corner.
¹³ She threw her arms around him and kissed him,
and with a brazen look she said,
¹⁴ “I’ve just made my peace offerings
and fulfilled my vows.
¹⁵ You’re the one I was looking for!
I came out to find you, and here you are!
¹⁶ My bed is spread with beautiful blankets,
with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.
¹⁷ I’ve perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
¹⁸ Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning.
Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,
¹⁹ for my husband is not home.
He’s away on a long trip.
²⁰ He has taken a wallet full of money with him
and won’t return until later this month.

²¹ So she seduced him with her pretty speech
and enticed him with her flattery.
²² He followed her at once,
like an ox going to the slaughter.
He was like a stag caught in a trap,
²³ awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart.
He was like a bird flying into a snare,
little knowing it would cost him his life.

²⁴ So listen to me, my sons,
and pay attention to my words.
²⁵ Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her.
Don’t wander down her wayward path.
²⁶ For she has been the ruin of many;
many men have been her victims.
²⁷ Her house is the road to the grave.
Her bedroom is the den of death.