| 1. My son, hearken to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, |
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א. |
| 2. to watch [your] thoughts, and your lips shall guard knowledge. |
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ב. |
| 3. For the lips of a strange woman drip honey, and her palate is smoother than oil. |
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ג. |
| drip honey: Heb. נפת, an expression of sweetness. |
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| the lips of a strange woman: Apostasy. |
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| her palate: Heb. חכה, an expression of חךּ, a palate. |
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| 4. But her end is as bitter as wormwood, as sharp as a two-edged sword. |
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ד. |
| 5. Her feet descend to death; her steps come near the grave. |
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ה. |
| come near: Heb. יתמכו, an expression of nearness. |
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| 6. Lest you weigh the path of life, her paths have wandered off and you shall not know. |
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ו. |
| Lest you weigh the path of life: So did the Sages (Tanhuma Ekev 2) expound it: The Holy One, blessed be He, moved away (טלטל) the reward for the commandments and did not explain it [the reward], so that a person should not see a commandment for which the reward is great and cling to it and leave over the other commandments. This is the interpretation: Lest you weigh the ways of the Torah, which one to take and which one to leave, therefore its paths wandered off-God caused them to wander off and He did not make them known. This is the Midrash Aggadah, but according to the sequence of the verses, since after it is written: “And now, children, hearken to me and do not turn away from the sayings of my mouth. Distance your way from her,” it appears that he has not yet ended the section dealing with the harlot, and it should be interpreted as follows: |
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| Lest you weigh the path of life: Do not weigh the path of life in conjunction with that strange one, saying what to do, whether this one or this one [i.e., whether to follow the path of life or the path of the strange woman], for the paths of the harlot have wandered off to the grave, and you will not know how to beware until you wander off and fall. |
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| 7. And now, children, hearken to me and do not turn away from the sayings of my mouth. |
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ז. |
| 8. Distance your way from her and do not draw near to the entrance of her house, |
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ח. |
| 9. lest you give others your glory, and your years to a cruel one; |
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ט. |
| lest you give others your glory: Lest you turn your heart to other gods to give them the glory of your beauty and your praise. |
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| and your years to a cruel one: To the prince of Gehinnom. |
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| 10. lest strangers be sated with your strength and your labors be in the house of an alien. |
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י. |
| lest strangers be sated with your strength: The prophets of Baal, who collect money with their lies and their hastiness. |
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| and your labors: And your toil, with which you were saddened and fatigued. |
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| in the house of an alien: In the pagan temple of the pagans. |
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| 11. And you shall moan when your end comes, when your flesh and your body are consumed, |
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יא. |
| And you shall moan when your end comes: The end will be that you will moan when your end comes. |
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| 12. and you will say, "How [is it that] I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof; |
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יב. |
| 13. and I did not hearken to my instructors, and to my teachers I did not incline my ear? |
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יג. |
| 14. I was almost in all evil, in the midst of the congregation and the assembly." |
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יד. |
| I was almost in all evil: There is but a step between me and Gehinnom. (Because of a little thing, I was now “in all evil,” for I did not obey my instructors; had I obeyed them, this would not have happened to me. From Rabbi Joseph Kara.) |
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| 15. Drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own spring. |
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טו. |
| Drink water from your own cistern: From the cistern that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave you for your share, viz. the Law of Moses. |
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| your own cistern: This denotes gathered water. |
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| and running water: Heb. ונזלים, spring water. In the beginning it is like gathered water, and at the end it gushes out more and more. |
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| 16. May your springs spread out rivulets of water in the squares. |
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טז. |
| May your springs spread out: In the end you will acquire disciples, and you will promulgate decisions in public, and you will gain a reputation. |
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| in the squares: of the city the rivulets of your water shall spread. |
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| 17. You alone shall have them, and strangers shall have nothing with you. |
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יז. |
| You alone shall have them: You alone will be honored by them, and no one else will share your honor with you. Since he says above, “Lest strangers be satisfied with your strength,” he says here, “You alone shall have them, and thereby…” |
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| 18. Your fountain shall be blessed, and you shall rejoice with the wife of your youth; |
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יח. |
| Your fountain shall be blessed, and you shall rejoice with the wife of your youth: That is the Torah which you learned in your youth. |
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| 19. a lovely hind and a graceful mountain goat, her breasts will satisfy you at all times; you shall always be intoxicated with her love. |
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יט. |
| you shall always be intoxicated: Heb. תשגה. I saw in the words of Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan that תשגה means “you shall always busy yourself,” and it is an Arabic expression. He cited as proof, “to seek shegiah,” meaning to seek business, but I do not know where it is stated. But our Sages explained it as an expression of intoxication (lit. inadvertence), as its apparent meaning. On account of her love, you shall be inadvertent in your other affairs, because she will guard your things. They said concerning Rabbi Eleazar the son of Pedath, that he was preaching in the lower market and his cloak was lying in the upper market. Once a man came and found a snake coiled on it. |
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| 20. Now why should you, my son, be intoxicated by a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of an alien one? |
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כ. |
| 21. For man's ways are opposite the Lord's eyes, and He weighs all his paths. |
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כא. |
| For man’s ways are opposite the Lord’s eyes, and He weighs, etc.: He weighs his ways and knows how many sins and how many merits he has. |
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| 22. His iniquities shall trap the wicked man, and he shall be hanged with the ropes of his sin. |
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כב. |
| His iniquities shall trap: Heb. ילכדנו it. shall trap him, like ילכדוהו |
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| and he shall be hanged with the ropes of his sin: יתמך, lit. he shall be supported. He shall be hanged, for the one hanged is supported by the ropes with which he is hanged. |
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| 23. He shall die without discipline, and he shall err with his exceeding foolishness. |
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כג. |
| He shall die without discipline: Because he did not accept discipline. |