Proverbs 6:20-7:1 (Vespers, 2nd reading)
- 20
- My son, keep your father’s command, and do not forsake the law of your mother.
- 21
- bind them continually upon your heart; tie them around your neck.
- 22
- When you roam, they will lead you; when you sleep, they will keep you; and when you awake, they will speak with you.
- 23
- For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
- 24
- to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress.
- 25
- Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
- 26
- For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
- 27
- Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
- 28
- Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared?
- 29
- So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her shall not be innocent.
- 30
- People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.
- 31
- Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; he may have to give up all the substance of his house.
- 32
- Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so destroys his own soul.
- 33
- Wounds and dishonor he will get, and his reproach will not be wiped away.
- 34
- For jealousy is a husband’s fury; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
- 35
- He will accept no recompense, nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.
- 1
- My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you.