Proverbs 5:1–14

Avoid Adultery

¹My son, 

pay attention to my wisdom. 

Open your ears to my understanding 

²so that you may act with foresight 

and speak with insight. 

³The lips of an adulterous woman drip with honey. 

Her kiss is smoother than oil, 

⁴but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, 

as sharp as a two-edged sword. 

⁵Her feet descend to death. 

Her steps lead straight to hell. 

⁶She doesn’t even think about the path of life. 

Her steps wander, and she doesn’t realize it. 

⁷But now, sons, 

listen to me, 

and do not turn away from what I say to you. 

⁸Stay far away from her. 

Do not even go near her door. 

⁹Either you will surrender your reputation to others 

and ⸤the rest of⸥ your years to some cruel person, 

¹⁰or strangers will benefit from your strength 

and you will have to work hard in a pagan’s house. 

¹¹Then you will groan when your end comes, 

when your body and flesh are consumed. 

You will say, 

¹²“Oh, how I hated discipline! 

How my heart despised correction! 

¹³I didn’t listen to what my teachers said to me, 

nor did I keep my ear open to my instructors. 

¹⁴I almost reached total ruin 

in the assembly and in the congregation.”