Proverbs 5 ⓘ

5:1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding,

5:2 that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.

5:3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,

5:4 but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.

5:5 Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.

5:6 She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it.

5:7 Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don’t depart from the words of my mouth.

5:8 Remove your way far from her. Don’t come near the door of her house,

5:9 lest you give your honour to others, and your years to the cruel one;

5:10 lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labours enrich another man’s house.

5:11 You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,

5:12 and say, “How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof.

5:13 I haven’t obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!

5:14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin, amongst the gathered assembly.”

5:15 Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.

5:16 Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?

5:17 Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.

5:18 Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

5:19 A loving doe and a graceful deer— let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.

5:20 For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?

5:21 For the ways of man are before the LORD’s eyes. He examines all his paths.

5:22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

5:23 He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.