Wisdom Will Keep You from Adultery

7 My son, remember my words. Don’t forget the commands I give you. ²Obey my commands and you will have life. Make my teaching the most important thing in your life. ³{Keep my commands and teachings with you always.} Tie them around your fingers. Write them on your heart. ⁴Treat wisdom like a sister. Treat understanding like a part of your family.* ⁵Then they will protect you from the “other women.” They will protect you from their nice words that can lead you into sin. ⁶One day I was looking out my window ⁷at some foolish teenagers and noticed one that was especially foolish. ⁸He walked through the market place toward that bad woman’s corner and walked straight to her house. ⁹It was almost dark—the sun was setting. The night was beginning. ¹⁰The woman came out of the house to meet him. She was dressed like a prostitute.* She had plans for the young man. ¹¹She was wild and rebellious. She wasn’t going to stay at home! ¹²She walked the streets. She went everywhere looking for trouble. ¹³She grabbed the young man and kissed him. Without any shame she looked him in the eye and said, ¹⁴“I had to offer a fellowship sacrifice today. I gave what I promised to give. ¹⁵{Now I have plenty of food.} So I came out to invite you to join me. I looked and looked for you. And now I found you! ¹⁶I put clean sheets on my bed. They are very beautiful sheets from Egypt. ¹⁷I put perfume on my bed. The myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon smell wonderful! ¹⁸Come, we can enjoy ourselves all night. We can make love until dawn. ¹⁹My husband is gone. He is away on a business trip. ²⁰He took enough money with him for a long trip. He won’t come home for two weeks.*” ²¹The woman used those words to tempt the young man. Her smooth words tricked him. ²²And the young man followed her to the trap. He was like a bull being led to the slaughter. He was like a deer walking into a trap, ²³with a hunter ready to put an arrow through its heart. The boy was like a bird flying into a net. He didn’t know the danger he was in. ²⁴Now sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words I say. ²⁵Don’t let your heart lead you toward an evil woman—don’t follow where she wants to lead you. Don’t follow her ways. ²⁶She has caused many men to fall. She has destroyed many men. ²⁷Her house is the place of death. Her path leads straight to death!

Treat … family Or, “Make wisdom your lover and understanding your closest relative.” prostitute A woman paid by men for sexual sin. Sometimes this also means a person who is not faithful to God and stops following him. He ... two weeks. Literally, “He won’t come home until the full moon.” The fellowship meal probably shows that this happened at the new moon, the first day of the Hebrew month.

Wisdom, the Good Woman

8 Listen! Wisdom and Understanding are calling for you to listen. ²They stand at the top of the hill by the road where the paths meet. ³They are near the gates of the city. They are calling out from the open doors. ⁴{Wisdom says,} “Men, I call out to you. I call out to all people. ⁵If you are foolish, learn to be wise. Foolish men, learn to understand. ⁶Listen! The things I teach are important. I tell you things that are right. ⁷My words are true. I hate evil lies. ⁸The things I say are right. There is nothing false or wrong in my words. ⁹All these sayings are clear to the person who has understanding. The person with knowledge understands these things. ¹⁰Accept my discipline. It is worth more than silver. It is worth more than the best gold. ¹¹Wisdom is worth more than pearls. It is worth more than anything a person can want.”

What Wisdom Does

¹²“I am Wisdom. I live with good judgment. You can find me with Knowledge and Good Planning. ¹³If a person respects the Lord, then that person will hate evil. I (Wisdom) hate pride and people who think they are better than other people. I hate evil ways, and a lying mouth. ¹⁴But I give people the ability to make good decisions and have good judgment. I give understanding and power! ¹⁵Kings use me to rule. Rulers use me to make fair laws. ¹⁶Every good ruler on earth uses me to rule the people under them. ¹⁷I love people who love me. And if people try hard to find me, they will find me. ¹⁸I also have riches and honor to give. I give true wealth and success. ¹⁹The things I give are better than fine gold. And my gifts are better than pure silver. ²⁰I lead people in the right way. I lead them along the paths of right judgment. ²¹I give wealth to people who love me. Yes, I fill their houses with treasures. ²²I was the first thing the Lord made, long ago in the beginning. ²³I was made in the beginning. I was made first, before the world. ²⁴I was formed before the oceans; I was made before there was water. ²⁵I was born before the mountains. I was born before the hills. ²⁶I was born before the Lord made the earth. I was born before the fields. I was born before God made the first dust of the world. ²⁷I was there when the Lord made the skies. I was there when the Lord drew the circle around the land and set the limits for the ocean. ²⁸I was born before the Lord put the clouds in the sky. And I was there when the Lord put water in the ocean. ²⁹I was there when the Lord set the limits for water in the seas. The water can’t rise higher than the Lord allows. I was there when the Lord made the foundations of the earth. ³⁰I was beside him like a skilled worker. The Lord was happy every day because of me. I made him laugh and be happy all the time. ³¹The Lord was excited about the world he made. He was happy about the people that he put there. ³²“Now, children, listen to me! You can be happy too, if you follow my ways! ³³Listen to my teachings and become wise. Don’t refuse to listen. ³⁴The person who listens to me will be happy. He watches every day at my doors. He waits at my doorway. ³⁵Any person who finds me finds life. He will get good things from the Lord! ³⁶But the person who sins against me hurts himself. All people who hate me love death!”