¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:

¹Sine moj, čuj moju mudrost, prigni uho mojoj razboritosti

²that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.

²da sačuvaš oprez, da ti usne zadrže znanje.

³For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,

³Jer s usana žene preljubnice kaplje med i nepce joj je glađe od ulja,

⁴But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁴ali je ona naposljetku gorka kao pelin, oštra kao dvosjekli mač.

⁵Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol Sheol is the place of the dead. .

⁵Njene noge silaze k smrti, a koraci vode u Podzemlje.

⁶She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it.

⁶Ona ne pazi na put života, ne mari što su joj staze kolebljive.

⁷Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don’t depart from the words of my mouth.

⁷Zato me sada poslušaj, sine, i ne odstupaj od riječi mojih usta.

⁸Remove your way far from her. Don’t come near the door of her house,

⁸Neka je put tvoj daleko od nje i ne približuj se vratima njezine kuće,

⁹lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;

⁹da drugima ne bi dao svoju slavu i okrutnima svoje godine;

¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man’s house.

¹⁰da se ne bi tuđinci nasitili tvoga dobra i da tvoja zaslužba ne ode u tuđu kuću;

¹¹You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,

¹¹da ne ridaš na koncu kad ti nestane tijela i puti

¹²and say, “How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

¹²i da ne kažeš: "Oh, kako sam mrzio pouku i kako mi je srce preziralo ukor!

¹³neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!

¹³I ne slušah glasa svojih učitelja, niti priklonih uho onima što me poučavahu.

¹⁴I have come to the brink of utter ruin, in the midst of the gathered assembly.”

¹⁴I umalo ne zapadoh u svako zlo, usred zbora i zajednice!"

¹⁵Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.

¹⁵Pij vodu iz svoje nakapnice i onu što teče iz tvoga studenca.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁶Moraju li se tvoji izvori razlijevati i tvoji potoci teći ulicama?

¹⁷Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.

¹⁷Nego neka oni budu samo tvoji, a ne i tuđinaca koji su uza te.

¹⁸Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁸Neka je blagoslovljen izvor tvoj i raduj se sa ženom svoje mladosti:

¹⁹A loving doe and a graceful deer— let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.

¹⁹neka ti je kao mila košuta i ljupka gazela, neka te grudi njene opajaju u svako doba, njezina ljubav zatravljuje bez prestanka!

²⁰For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?

²⁰TÓa zašto bi se, sine moj, zanosio preljubnicom i grlio tuđinki njedra?

²¹For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh. He examines all his paths.

²¹Jer pred Jahvinim su očima čovjekovi putovi i on motri sve njegove staze.

²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

²²Opakoga će uhvatiti njegova zloća i sapet će ga užad njegovih grijeha.

²³He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.

²³Umrijet će jer nema pouke, propast će zbog svoje goleme gluposti.