Proverbs 5:1–14

AVOID SEDUCTION

5My son, pay attention to my wisdom;

listen closely^D to my understanding^u

²so that you may maintain discretion

and your lips safeguard knowledge.^v

³Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey

and her words are^E smoother than oil,

⁴in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood^w

and as sharp as a double-edged sword.^x

⁵Her feet go down to death;

her steps head straight for Sheol.^y

⁶She doesn’t consider the path of life;

she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.

⁷So now, sons, listen to me,

and don’t turn away from the words from my mouth.^z

⁸Keep your way far from her.

Don’t go near the door of her house.^aa

⁹Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others

and your years to someone cruel;

¹⁰strangers will drain your resources,

and your hard-earned pay will end up in a foreigner’s house.

¹¹At the end of your life, you will lament

when your physical body has been consumed,

¹²and you will say, “How I hated discipline,

and how my heart despised correction.^ab

¹³I didn’t obey my teachers

or listen closely^F to my instructors.

¹⁴I am on the verge of complete ruin

before the entire community.”