Proverbs 5:1–7:27
Admonition to Avoid Seduction to Evil62
5:1 My child,1 be attentive to my wisdom,
pay close attention2 to my understanding,
5:2 in order to safeguard3 discretion,4
and that your lips may guard knowledge.
5:3 For the lips5 of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her seductive words6 are smoother than olive oil,
5:4 but in the end7 she is bitter8 as wormwood,9
sharp as a two-edged10 sword.
5:5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.11
5:6 Lest12 she should make level the path leading to life,13
her paths are unstable14 but she does not know it.15
5:7 So now, children,16 listen to me;
do not turn aside from the words I speak.17
5:8 Keep yourself18 far19 from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,
5:9 lest you give your vigor20 to others
and your years to a cruel person,
5:10 lest strangers devour21 your strength,22
and your labor23 benefit24 another man’s house.
5:11 And at the end of your life25 you will groan26
when your flesh and your body are wasted away.27
5:12 And you will say, “How I hated discipline!
My heart spurned reproof!
5:13 For28 I did not obey my teachers29
and I did not heed30 my instructors.31
5:14 I almost32 came to complete ruin33
in the midst of the whole congregation!”34
5:15 Drink water from your own cistern
and running water from your own well.35
5:16 Should your springs be dispersed36 outside,
your streams of water in the wide plazas?
5:17 Let them be for yourself37 alone,
and not for strangers with you.38
5:18 May your fountain be blessed,39
and may you rejoice40 in your young wife41—
5:19 a loving doe,42 a graceful deer;
may her breasts satisfy you at all times,
may you be captivated43 by her love always.
5:20 But why should you be captivated,44 my son, by an adulteress,
and embrace the bosom of a different woman?45
5:21 For the ways of a person46 are in front of the Lord’s eyes,
and the Lord47 weighs48 all that person’s49 paths.
5:22 The wicked50 will be captured by his51 own iniquities,52
and he will be held53 by the cords of his own sin.54
5:23 He will die because55 there was no discipline;
because of the greatness of his folly56 he will reel.57
Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts58
6:1 My child,1 if you have made a pledge2 for your neighbor,
and3 have become a guarantor4 for a stranger,5
6:2 if6 you have been ensnared7 by the words you have uttered,8
and have been caught by the words you have spoken,
6:3 then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself,9
because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power:10
go, humble yourself,11
and appeal firmly12 to your neighbor.
6:4 Permit no sleep to your eyes13
or slumber to your eyelids.
6:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare,14
and like a bird from the trap15 of the fowler.
6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;16
observe its ways and be wise!
overseer, or17 ruler,
6:8 yet it prepares its food in the summer;
it gathers at the harvest what it will eat.18
6:9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?
When will you rise from your sleep?19
6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to relax,20
6:11 and your poverty will come like a robber,21
and your need like an armed man.22
6:12 A worthless and wicked person23
walks around saying perverse24 things;25
signals with his feet,
and points with his fingers;26
6:14 he plots evil with perverse thoughts27 in his heart,
he spreads contention28 at all times.
6:15 Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;
in an instant29 he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.
6:16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
even30 seven31 things that are an abomination to him:32
6:17 haughty eyes,33 a lying tongue,34
and hands that shed innocent blood,35
6:18 a heart that devises wicked plans,36
feet that are swift to run37 to evil,
6:19 a false witness who pours out lies,38
and a person who spreads discord39 among family members.40
6:20 My child, guard the commands of your father
and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.
6:21 Bind them41 on your heart continually;
fasten them around your neck.
6:22 When you walk about,42 they43 will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up,44 they will talk45 to you.
6:23 For the commandments46 are like47 a lamp,48
instruction is like a light,
and rebukes of discipline are like49 the road leading to life,50
6:24 by keeping51 you from the evil woman,52
from the smooth tongue of53 the loose woman.54
6:25 Do not lust55 in your heart for her beauty,
and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes;56
6:26 for on account57 of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,
but the wife of another man58 preys on your precious life.59
6:27 Can a man hold60 fire61 against his chest62
without63 burning his clothes?
6:28 Can64 a man walk on hot coals
without scorching his feet?
6:29 So it is with65 the one who has sex with66 his neighbor’s wife;
no one67 who touches68 her will escape69 punishment.70
6:30 People71 do not despise a thief when he steals
to fulfill his need72 when he is hungry.
6:31 Yet73 if he is caught74 he must repay75 seven times over,
he might even have to give76 all the wealth of his house.
6:32 A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks wisdom,77
whoever does it destroys his own life.78
6:33 He will be beaten and despised,79
and his reproach will not be wiped away;80
6:34 for jealousy kindles81 a husband’s82 rage,
and he will not show mercy83 when he takes revenge.
6:35 He will not consider84 any compensation;85
he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation.86
Admonition to Avoid the Wiles of the Adulteress87
7:1 My child,1 keep my words
and treasure up my commands in your own keeping.2
7:2 Keep my commands3 so that you may live,4
and obey5 my instruction as your most prized possession.6
7:3 Bind them on your forearm;7
write them on the tablet of your heart.8
7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”9
and call understanding a close relative,
7:5 so that they may keep you10 from the adulterous11 woman,
from the loose woman12 who flatters you13 with her words.14
7:6 For at the window of my house
through my window lattice I looked out
7:7 and I saw among the naive—
I discerned among the youths15—
a young man16 who lacked wisdom.17
7:8 He was passing by the street near her corner,
making his way18 along the road to her house19
7:9 in the twilight, the evening,20
in the dark of the night.21
7:10 Suddenly22 a woman came out to meet him!
She was dressed like a prostitute23 and with secret intent.24
7:11 (She is loud and rebellious,
she25 does not remain26 at home—
7:12 at one time outside, at another27 in the wide plazas,
and by every corner she lies in wait.)
7:13 So she grabbed him and kissed him,
and with a bold expression28 she said to him,
7:14 “I have29 fresh meat at home;30
today I have fulfilled my vows!
7:15 That is why I came out to meet you,
to look for you,31 and I found you!
7:16 I have spread my bed with elegant coverings,32
with richly colored fabric33 from Egypt.
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
7:18 Come, let’s drink deeply34 of lovemaking35 until morning,
let’s delight ourselves36 with sexual intercourse.37
7:19 For my husband38 is not at home;39
he has gone on a journey of some distance.
7:20 He has taken a bag of money with him;40
he will not return until41 the end of the month.”42
7:21 She persuaded him43 with persuasive words;44
with her smooth talk45 she compelled him.46
7:22 Suddenly he went47 after her
like an ox that goes to the slaughter,
like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare48
7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver49—
like a bird hurrying into a trap,
and he does not know that it will cost him his life.50
7:24 So now, sons,51 listen to me,
and pay attention to the words I speak.52
7:25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways—
do not wander into her pathways;
7:26 for she has brought down53 many fatally wounded,
and all those she has slain are many.54
7:27 Her house is the way to the grave,55