9
1 Be not jealous over the wife of thy bosom,
And teach her not an evil lesson against thyself.
2 Give not thy soul unto a woman,
That she should set her foot upon thy strength.
3 Go not to meet a woman that playeth the harlot,
Lest haply thou fall into her snares.
4 Use not the company of a woman that is a singer,
Lest haply thou be caught by her attempts.
5 Gaze not on a maid, lest haply thou be trapped in her penalties.
6 Give not thy soul unto harlots,
That thou lose not thine inheritance.
7 Look not round about thee in the streets of the city,
Neither wander thou in the solitary places thereof.
8 Turn away thine eye from a comely woman,
And gaze not on another’s beauty:
By the beauty of a woman many have been led astray;
And herewith love is kindled as a fire.
9 Sit not at all with a woman that hath a husband; *
And revel not with her at the wine;
Lest haply thy soul turn aside unto her,
And with thy spirit thou slide into destruction.
10 Forsake not an old friend;
For the new is not comparable to him:
As new wine, so is a new friend;
If it become old, thou shalt drink it with gladness.
11 Envy not the glory of a sinner;
For thou knowest not what shall be his overthrow.
12 Delight not in the delights of the ungodly:
Remember they shall not go unpunished unto † the grave.
13 Keep thee far from the man that hath ‡ power to kill,
And thou shalt have no suspicion of the fear of death:
And if thou come unto him, commit no fault,
Lest he take away thy life:
Know surely that thou goest about in the midst of snares,
And walkest upon the battlements of a city.
14 As well as thou canst, guess at thy neighbours;
And take counsel with the wise.
15 Let thy converse be with men of understanding;
And let all thy discourse be in the law of the Most High.
16 Let just men be the companions of thy board;
And let thy glorying be in the fear of the Lord.
17 For the hand of the artificers a work shall be commended:
And he that ruleth the people shall be counted wise for his speech.
18 A man full of tongue is dangerous in his city;
And he that is headlong in his speech shall be hated.
* 9:9 A line of this verse is here omitted by the best authorities. † 9:12 Gr. Hades. ‡ 9:13 Or, authority