1Dear friend, pay close attention to this, my wisdom; listen very closely to the way I see it.
2Then you'll acquire a taste for good sense; what I tell you will keep you out of trouble.
3The lips of a seductive woman are oh so sweet, her soft words are oh so smooth.
4But it won't be long before she's gravel in your mouth, a pain in your gut, a wound in your heart.
5She's dancing down the primrose path to Death; she's headed straight for Hell and taking you with her.
6She hasn't a clue about Real Life, about who she is or where she's going.
7So, my friend, listen closely; don't treat my words casually.
8Keep your distance from such a woman; absolutely stay out of her neighborhood.
9You don't want to squander your wonderful life, to waste your precious life among the hardhearted.
10Why should you allow strangers to take advantage of you? Why be exploited by those who care nothing for you?
11You don't want to end your life full of regrets, nothing but sin and bones,
12Saying, "Oh, why didn't I do what they told me? Why did I reject a disciplined life?
13Why didn't I listen to my mentors, or take my teachers seriously?
14My life is ruined! I haven't one blessed thing to show for my life!"
15Do you know the saying, "Drink from your own rain barrel, draw water from your own spring-fed well"?
16It's true. Otherwise, you may one day come home and find your barrel empty and your well polluted.
17Your spring water is for you and you only, not to be passed around among strangers.
18Bless your fresh-flowing fountain! Enjoy the wife you married as a young man!
19Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose— don't ever quit taking delight in her body. Never take her love for granted!
20Why would you trade enduring intimacies for cheap thrills with a whore? for dalliance with a promiscuous stranger?
21Mark well that God doesn't miss a move you make; he's aware of every step you take.
22The shadow of your sin will overtake you; you'll find yourself stumbling all over yourself in the dark.
23Death is the reward of an undisciplined life; your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.