Proverbs 5–7

Warning Against Adultery

5^wMy son, be attentive to my wisdom;

^xincline your ear to my understanding,

²that you may keep ^ydiscretion,

and your lips may ^zguard knowledge.

³For the lips of ^aa forbidden¹ woman drip honey,

and her speech² is ^bsmoother than oil,

⁴but in the end she is ^cbitter as ^dwormwood,

^esharp as ^fa two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet ^ggo down to death;

her steps follow the path to³ Sheol;

⁶she ^hdoes not ponder the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

⁷And ⁱnow, O sons, listen to me,

and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

⁸Keep your way far from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

⁹lest you give your honor to others

and your years to the merciless,

¹⁰lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your ^jlabors go to the house of a foreigner,

¹¹and at the end of your life you ^kgroan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

¹²and you say, ^l“How I hated discipline,

and my heart ^mdespised reproof!

¹³I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

¹⁴ⁿI am at the brink of utter ruin

in the assembled congregation.”

¹⁵Drink ^owater from your own cistern,

flowing water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your ^psprings be scattered abroad,

streams of water ^qin the streets?

^17rLet them be for yourself alone,

and not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your ^ofountain be blessed,

and ^srejoice in ^tthe wife of your youth,

¹⁹a lovely ^udeer, a graceful doe.

Let her breasts ^vfill you at all times with delight;

be intoxicated⁴ always in her love.

²⁰Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with ^wa forbidden woman

and embrace the bosom of ^wan adulteress?⁵

²¹For ^xa man’s ways are ^ybefore the eyes of the Lord,

and he ^zponders⁶ all his paths.

²²The ^ainiquities of the wicked ^bensnare him,

and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

^23cHe dies for lack of discipline,

and because of his great folly he is ^dled astray.

Practical Warnings

6My son, if you have put up ^esecurity for your neighbor,

have ^egiven your pledge for a stranger,

²if you are ^fsnared in the words of your mouth,

caught in the words of your mouth,

³then do this, my son, and save yourself,

for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:

go, hasten,¹ and ^gplead urgently with your neighbor.

^4hGive your eyes no sleep

and your eyelids no slumber;

⁵save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,²

ⁱlike a bird from the hand of the fowler.

^6jGo to ^kthe ant, O ^lsluggard;

consider her ways, and ^mbe wise.

⁷ⁿWithout having any chief,

^oofficer, or ruler,

⁸she prepares her bread ^pin summer

and ^qgathers her food in harvest.

^9rHow long will you lie there, ^lO sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

^10sA little sleep, a little slumber,

^ta little ^sfolding of the hands to rest,

^11uand poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.

^12vA worthless person, a wicked man,

goes about with ^wcrooked speech,

^13xwinks with his eyes, signals³ with his feet,

points with his finger,

¹⁴with ^yperverted heart ^zdevises evil,

continually ^asowing discord;

¹⁵therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;

^bin a moment he will be broken ^cbeyond healing.

¹⁶There are ^dsix things that the Lord hates,

^dseven that are an abomination to him:

^17ehaughty eyes, ^fa lying tongue,

and ^ghands that shed innocent blood,

^18ha heart that devises wicked plans,

ⁱfeet that make haste to run to evil,

^19ja false witness who ^kbreathes out lies,

and one who ^asows discord among brothers.

Warnings Against Adultery

^20lMy son, keep your father’s commandment,

^land forsake not your mother’s teaching.

^21mBind them on your heart always;

ⁿtie them around your neck.

^22oWhen you walk, they⁴ will lead you;

^owhen you lie down, they will ^pwatch over you;

and when you awake, they will talk with you.

²³For the commandment is ^qa lamp and the teaching a light,

and the ^rreproofs of discipline are the way of life,

²⁴to preserve you from the evil woman,⁵

from the smooth tongue of ^sthe adulteress.⁶

^25tDo not desire her beauty in your heart,

and do not let her capture you with her ^ueyelashes;

²⁶for ^vthe price of a prostitute is only ^wa loaf of bread,⁷

but a married woman^{8 x}hunts down a precious life.

²⁷Can a man carry ^yfire next to his ^zchest

and his clothes not be burned?

²⁸Or can one ^awalk on hot coals

and his feet not be scorched?

²⁹So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

none who touches her ^bwill go unpunished.

³⁰People do not despise a thief if he steals

to ^csatisfy his appetite when he is hungry,

³¹but ^dif he is caught, he will pay ^esevenfold;

he will give all the goods of his house.

³²He who commits adultery lacks sense;

he who does it destroys himself.

³³He will get wounds and dishonor,

and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

³⁴For ^fjealousy makes a man furious,

and he will not spare when ^ghe takes revenge.

³⁵He will accept no compensation;

he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

Warning Against the Adulteress

7^hMy son, keep my words

and ^htreasure up my commandments with you;

²ⁱkeep my commandments and live;

keep my teaching as ^jthe apple of your eye;

^3kbind them on your fingers;

^kwrite them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

and call insight your intimate friend,

⁵to keep you from ^lthe forbidden¹ woman,

from ^lthe adulteress² with her smooth words.

⁶For at ^mthe window of my house

I have looked out through my lattice,

⁷and I have seen among ⁿthe simple,

I have perceived among the youths,

a young man ^olacking sense,

⁸passing along the street ^pnear her corner,

taking the road to her house

⁹in ^qthe twilight, in the evening,

at ^rthe time of night and darkness.

¹⁰And behold, the woman meets him,

^sdressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.³

¹¹She is ^tloud and ^uwayward;

^vher feet do not stay at home;

¹²now in the street, now in the market,

and ^wat every corner she ^xlies in wait.

¹³She seizes him and kisses him,

and with ^ybold face she says to him,

¹⁴“I had to ^zoffer sacrifices,⁴

and today I have ^apaid my vows;

¹⁵so now I have come out to meet you,

to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.

¹⁶I have spread my couch with ^bcoverings,

colored linens from ^cEgyptian linen;

¹⁷I have perfumed my bed with ^dmyrrh,

aloes, and ^ecinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;

let us delight ourselves with love.

¹⁹For ^fmy husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey;

²⁰he took a bag of money with him;

at full moon he will come home.”

²¹With much seductive speech she persuades him;

with ^gher smooth talk she compels him.

²²All at once he follows her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

or as a stag is caught fast⁵

²³till an arrow pierces its liver;

as ^ha bird rushes into a snare;

he does not know that it will cost him his life.

²⁴And ⁱnow, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

²⁵Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;

do not stray into her paths,

²⁶for many a victim has she laid low,

and all her slain are ^ja mighty throng.

²⁷Her house is ^kthe way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death.