Proverbs 5:3–23

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.