1Beni (my son), if thou put up collateral for thy re'a,
if thou hast shaken hands in pledge with a zar (stranger),

2Thou art snared with the words of thy peh (mouth),
thou art trapped with the words of thy peh (mouth).

3Do this now, beni (my son), and deliver thyself,
since thou art come into the palm of thy re'a;
go, humble thyself, and plead with thy re'a.

4Give not sheynah to thine eyes,
nor slumber to thine eyelids.

5Deliver thyself as a gazelle from the yad, ⁴
and as a tzippor (bird) from the yad of the fowler.

6Go to the nemalah (ant), thou atzel (sluggard, lazy one);
consider her drakhim (ways), and be chacham (wise);

7Which having no katzin (officer, leader)
or shoter (policeman) or moshel,

8Prepareth her lechem in the kayitz (summer),
and gathereth her food in the katzir (harvest).

9Ad mosai wilt thou lie down, O atzel (sluggard, lazy one)?
When wilt thou arise out of thy sheynah (sleep)?

10Yet a little sheynot (sleep ), ⁵a little slumber,
a little folding of the yadayim to sleep;

11So shall thy poverty come as a prowler,
and thy need as an ish mogen (man of armor).

12A worthless person, a wicked man,
walketh with a perverse peh (mouth).

13He winketh with his eyes, he shuffleth with his regel,
he pointeth with his fingers;

14Tahpukhot (perversity) is in his lev,
he deviseth rah continually;
he stirs up midanim (contention, strife, discord). ⁶

15Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly;
suddenly shall he be destroyed without marpeh (remedy).

16These shesh (six) things doth Hashem hate;
indeed, shevah (seven) are an abomination unto His Nefesh;

17Haughty eyes, a lashon sheker,
and hands guilty of shefach dahm naki,

18A lev that deviseth wicked machshevot (plans),
raglayim that are swift in running to ra'ah,

19An ed sheker that speaketh lies,
and he that soweth midanim (contention, strife, discords) among achim.

20Beni (my son), keep the mitzvat Avicha,
and forsake not the torat Immecha;

21Bind them tamid (continually) upon thine lev,
and tie them about thy neck.

22When thou goest, it shall guide thee;
when thou sleepest, it shall be shomer over thee;
and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23For the mitzvah is a ner (lamp); and torah an ohr;
and tokhakhot musar (reproofs of discipline) are the Derech Chayyim (Life Lane);

24To be shomer over thee, keeping thee from the eshet rah,
from the smooth lashon of the nokhriyah (strange woman).

25Lust not after her beauty in thine lev;
neither let her allure thee with her eyelids.

26For by means of an isha zonah a man is reduced to a kikar lechem;
and [another] manʼs wife will prey on the nefesh yekara (precious soul).

27Can a man take eish in his kheyk,
and his clothes not be burned?

28Can one walk upon hot coals,
and his regel not be burned?

29So is he that goeth into his eshet re'a;
whosoever toucheth her shall not go unpunished.

30Men do not despise a ganav if he steal
to satisfy his nefesh when he is starving;

31But if he be found out, he shall restore sevenfold;
he shall give hon (substance, wealth) of his bais;

32But the no'ef (one who committeth adultery) with an isha lacketh lev; ⁷
he that doeth it destroyeth his own nefesh.

33A nega ⁸and dishonor shall he get;
and his cherpah (reproach) shall not be wiped away.

34For kina (jealousy) is the chamat gever (husbandʼs rage);
therefore he will not spare in the yom nakam (day of vengeance).

35He will not regard kofer (compensation);
neither will he be the appeased, though shochad (bribe) be great.