5:1 Fili mi, attende ad sapientiam meam, et prudentiæ meæ inclina aurem tuam :

5:1 My son, attend to my wisdom, and incline thy ear to my prudence,

5:2 ut custodias cogitationes, et disciplinam labia tua conservent. Ne attendas fallaciæ mulieris ;

5:2 That thou mayst keep thoughts, and thy lips may preserve instruction. Mind not the deceit of a woman.

5:3 favus enim distillans labia meretricis, et nitidius oleo guttur ejus :

5:3 For the lips of a harlot are like a honeycomb dropping, and her throat is smoother than oil.

5:4 novissima autem illius amara quasi absinthium, et acuta quasi gladius biceps.

5:4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a two-edged sword.

5:5 Pedes ejus descendunt in mortem, et ad inferos gressus illius penetrant.

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

5:6 Per semitam vitæ non ambulant ; vagi sunt gressus ejus et investigabiles.

5:6 They walk not by the path of life, her steps are wandering, and unaccountable.

5:7 Nunc ergo fili mi, audi me, et ne recedas a verbis oris mei.

5:7 Now, therefore, my son, hear me, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

5:8 Longe fac ab ea viam tuam, et ne appropinques foribus domus ejus.

5:8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the doors of her house.

5:9 Ne des alienis honorem tuum, et annos tuos crudeli :

5:9 Give not thy honour to strangers, and thy years to the cruel.

5:10 ne forte impleantur extranei viribus tuis, et labores tui sint in domo aliena,

5:10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, and thy labours be in another man's house,

5:11 et gemas in novissimis, quando consumpseris carnes tuas et corpus tuum, et dicas :

5:11 And thou mourn at the last, when thou shalt have spent thy flesh and thy body, and say;

5:12 Cur detestatus sum disciplinam, et increpationibus non acquievit cor meum,

5:12 Why have I hated instruction, and my heart consented not to reproof,

5:13 nec audivi vocem docentium me, et magistris non inclinavi aurem meam ?

5:13 And have not heard the voice of them that taught me, and have not inclined my ear to masters?

5:14 pene fui in omni malo, in medio ecclesiæ et synagogæ.

5:14 I have almost been in all evil, in the midst of the church and of the congregation.

5:15 Bibe aquam de cisterna tua, et fluenta putei tui ;

5:15 Drink water out of thy own cistern, and the streams of thy own well:

5:16 deriventur fontes tui foras, et in plateis aquas tuas divide.

5:16 Let thy fountains be conveyed abroad, and in the streets divide thy waters.

5:17 Habeto eas solus, nec sint alieni participes tui.

5:17 Keep them to thyself alone, neither let strangers be partakers with thee.

5:18 Sit vena tua benedicta, et lætare cum muliere adolescentiæ tuæ.

5:18 Let thy vein be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of thy youth:

5:19 Cerva carissima, et gratissimus hinnulus : ubera ejus inebrient te in omni tempore ; in amore ejus delectare jugiter.

5:19 Let her be thy dearest hind, and most agreeable fawn: let her breasts inebriate thee at all times: be thou delighted continually with her love.

5:20 Quare seduceris, fili mi, ab aliena, et foveris in sinu alterius ?

5:20 Why art thou seduced, my son, by a strange woman, and art cherished in the bosom of another?

5:21 Respicit Dominus vias hominis, et omnes gressus ejus considerat.

5:21 The Lord beholdeth the ways of man, and considereth all his steps.

5:22 Iniquitates suas capiunt impium, et funibus peccatorum suorum constringitur.

5:22 His own iniquities catch the wicked, and he is fast bound with the ropes of his own sins.

5:23 Ipse morietur, quia non habuit disciplinam, et in multitudine stultitiæ suæ decipietur.

5:23 He shall die, because he hath not received instruction, and in the multitude of his folly he shall be deceived.