¹My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

¹Mwanakomana wangu, chengeta mashoko angu, Viga mirairo yangu kwauri.

²Keep my commandments, and live; and my teaching, as the apple of thine eye.

²Chengeta mirairo yangu, urarame; Nomurau wangu semboni yeziso rako.

³Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the tablet of thy heart.

³Uzvisungire pamweya wako; Uzvinyore pabwendefa romoyo wako.

⁴Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister, and call intelligence [thy] kinswoman:

⁴Uti kuuchenjeri, Ndiwe hanzvadzi yangu; Utumidze njere shamwari yako;

⁵that they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger who flattereth with her words.

⁵Kuti zvikuchengete pamukadzi wokumwe, Pamutorwa anobata kumeso namashoko ake.

⁶For at the window of my house, I looked forth through my lattice,

⁶nekuti ndakatarira pahwindo reimba yangu, Pahutanda bwehwindo rangu;

⁷and I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the sons, a young man void of understanding,

⁷Ndikatarira pakati pavasina mano, Ndikaona pakati pamajaya. Rimwe jaya rakashaiwa njere;

⁸passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

⁸Richipfuura nenzira yomumusha pedo nekona yeimba yomukadzi

⁹in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the blackness of night and the darkness.

⁹Nenguva yorubvunzavaeni, nenguva yamadeko ezuva, Pakati pousiku kwasviba.

¹⁰And behold, there met him a woman in the attire of a harlot, and subtle of heart.

¹⁰Zvino tarira, mukadzi akasangana naye, Akanga akafuka sechifeve, anokunyengedzera pamoyo.

¹¹She is clamorous and unmanageable; her feet abide not in her house:

¹¹Anopupira, achiita sezvaanoda; Tsoka dzake hadzigari mumba make;

¹²now without, now in the broadways, -- and she lieth in wait at every corner.

¹²Imwe nguva ari munzira dzomumusha, imwe nguva pamatare; Anorindira pamakona ose.

¹³And she caught him and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,

¹³Zvino iye akamubata, akamutsvoda; Akataura naye nechiso chisina kunyara, akati kwaari,

¹⁴I have peace-offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows:

¹⁴Ndaifanira kuuya nezvibayiro zvezvipiriso zvokuyananisa, Nhasi ndaripa mhiko dzangu.

¹⁵therefore came I forth to meet thee, to seek earnestly thy face, and I have found thee.

¹⁵Saka ndabuda kuzokuchingamidza, Nditsvake chiso chako zvikuru, zvino ndakuwana.

¹⁶I have decked my bed with tapestry coverlets of variegated linen from Egypt;

¹⁶Ndakawarira machira anohukomba pamubhedha wangu, Nemicheka ina mavara inobva Egipita.

¹⁷I have perfumed my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁷Ndakasasa zvinonhuhwira pamubhedha wangu, Mura, negavakava, nekinamoni.

¹⁸Come, let us revel in love until the morning, let us delight ourselves with loves.

¹⁸Uya tigute nokudana kusvikira mangwanani; Ngatizvifadze nokudana kukuru.

¹⁹For the husband is not at home, he is gone a long journey;

¹⁹nekuti murume haapo pamusha; Akafamba rwendo rukuru;

²⁰he hath taken the money-bag with him, he will come home on the day of the full moon.

²⁰Akaenda nehombodo ine mari; Achadzoka pajenaguru.

²¹With her much enticement she beguiled him; with the smoothness of her lips she constrained him.

²¹Nokutaura kwake kunokwezva anomutsausa, Anomugombedzera nokubata kumeso kwemiromo yake.

²²He went after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, and as stocks [serve] for the correction of the fool;

²²Anomutevera pakarepo, Senzombe inoenda kwainondobayiwa, Kana sebenzi rakasungwa rinoenda kundorangwa;

²³till an arrow strike through his liver: as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for its life.

²³Kusvikira museve wabaya chiropa chake; Seshiri inokurumidzira kurugombe, Asingazivi kuti zvinovinga upenyu hwake.

²⁴And now, ye sons, hearken unto me, and attend to the words of my mouth.

²⁴Zvino vanakomana vangu, nditeererei, Inzwai mashoko omuromo wangu.

²⁵Let not thy heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths:

²⁵moyo wako ngaurege kutsaukira kunzira dzake; Usafamba-famba mumakwara ake.

²⁶for she hath cast down many wounded, and all slain by her were strong.

²⁶nekuti akawisira pasi vazhinji vakakuvadzwa; Zvirokwazvo, vakaurawa naye vazhinji kwazvo.

²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

²⁷Imba yake inzira dzinoenda Sheori, Dzinoburukira kudzimba dzorufu.