My son, keep my words,
And lay up my commandments with thee.
Keep my commandments and live;
And my {Or, teaching}law as the apple of thine eye.
Bind them upon thy fingers;
Write them upon the tablet of thy heart.
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister;
And call understanding thy {Or, familiar friend}kinswoman:
That they may keep thee from the strange woman,
From the foreigner that {Hebrew: maketh smooth her words.}flattereth with her words.
For at the window of my house
I looked forth through my lattice;
And I beheld among the simple ones,
I discerned among the youths,
A young man void of understanding,
Passing through the street near her corner;
And he went the way to her house,
In the twilight, in the evening of the day,
In the {Hebrew: pupil (of the eye).}middle of the night and in the darkness.
And, behold, there met him a woman
With the attire of a harlot, and {Or, close Hebrew: guarded.}wily of heart.
(She is {Or, turbulent}clamorous and wilful;
Her feet abide not in her house:
Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places,
And lieth in wait at every corner.)
So she caught him, and kissed him,
{Hebrew: She hardened her face, and said.}And with an impudent face she said unto him:
Sacrifices of peace-offerings {Or, were due from me}are with me;
This day have I paid my vows.
Therefore came I forth to meet thee,
Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
I have spread my couch with {Or, cushion}carpets of tapestry,
With striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
I have {Or, sprinkled}perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning;
Let us solace ourselves with loves.
For the man is not at home;
He is gone a long journey:
He hath taken a bag of money with him;
He will come home at the full moon.
With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield;
With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along.
He goeth after her {Hebrew: suddenly.}straightway,
As an ox goeth to the slaughter,
Or as one in {The Hebrew is obsure.}fetters to the correction of the fool;
Till an arrow strike through his liver;
As a bird hasteth to the snare,
And knoweth not that it is for his life.
Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me,
And attend to the words of my mouth.
Let not thy heart decline to her ways;
Go not astray in her paths.
For she hath cast down many wounded:
Yea, all her slain are a mighty host.
Her house is the way to Sheol,
Going down to the chambers of death.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 7,11 Spr 7,11
{Or, Folly}The foolish woman is clamorous;She is {Hebrew: simplicity.}simple, and knoweth nothing.
And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop,Than with a contentious woman in a wide house.
And withal they learn also to be idle, going about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,It shall be counted a curse to him.
I desire therefore that the younger {Or, women}widows marry, bear children, rule the household, give no occasion to the adversary for reviling:
A continual dropping in a very rainy dayAnd a contentious woman are alike:
to be sober-minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed:
A worthy woman who can find?For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband trusteth in her,And he shall have no lack of {Hebrew: spoil.}gain.
She doeth him good and not evilAll the days of her life.
She seeketh wool and flax,And worketh {Or, at the business of}willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchant-ships;She bringeth her bread from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night,And giveth food to her household,And their {Or, portion}task to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it;With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength,And maketh strong her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable;Her lamp goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the distaff,And her {Hebrew: palms.}hands hold the spindle.
She stretcheth out her {Hebrew: palm.}hand to the poor;Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household;For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh for herself {Or, cushions}carpets of tapestry;Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh linen garments and selleth them,And delivereth girdles unto the {Hebrew: Canaanites.}merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing;And she laugheth at the time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;And the {Or, teaching}law of kindness is on her tongue.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,And eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up, and call her blessed;Her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying:
Many daughters have done worthily,But thou excellest them all.
Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain;But a woman that feareth Jehovah, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands;And let her works praise her in the gates.