Proverbs 5–7

Avoid Seduction

5My son, pay attention to my wisdom;

listen closely ^vto my understanding ^w

²so that you may maintain discretion

and your lips safeguard knowledge. ^x

³Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey

and her words are ^ysmoother than oil,

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

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

⁵Her feet go down to death;

her steps head straight for Sheol. ^b

⁶She doesn’t consider the path of life;

she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.

⁷So now, my sons, listen to me,

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

⁸Keep your way far from her.

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

⁹Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others

and your years to someone cruel;

¹⁰strangers will drain your resources,

and your earnings 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. ^e

¹³I didn’t obey my teachers

or listen closely ^fto my mentors.

¹⁴I am on the verge of complete ruin

before the entire community.”

Enjoy Marriage

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern,

water flowing from your own well. ^g

¹⁶Should your springs flow in the streets,

streams of water in the public squares? ^h

¹⁷They should be for you alone

and not for you to share with strangers.

¹⁸Let your fountain be blessed,

and take pleasure in the wife of your youth. ⁱ

¹⁹A loving doe, a graceful fawn—

let her breasts always satisfy you; ^j

be lost in her love forever.

²⁰Why, my son, would you be infatuated

with a forbidden woman

or embrace the breast of a stranger? ^k

²¹For a man’s ways are before the Lord’s eyes, ^l

and He considers all his paths. ^m

²²A wicked man’s iniquities entrap him; ⁿ

he is entangled in the ropes of his own sin. ^o

²³He will die because there is no discipline, ^p

and be lost because of his great stupidity.

Financial Entanglements

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

or entered into an agreement with ^ra stranger, ^st

²you have been trapped by the words of your lips ^u—

ensnared by the words of your mouth.

³Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,

for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:

Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.

⁴Don’t give sleep to your eyes

or slumber to your eyelids. ^v

⁵Escape like a gazelle from a hunter, ^w

like a bird from a fowler’s trap. ^xy

Laziness

⁶Go to the ant, ^zyou slacker! ^a

Observe its ways and become wise.

⁷Without leader, administrator, or ruler,

⁸it prepares its provisions in summer;

it gathers its food during harvest. ^b

⁹How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?

When will you get up from your sleep?

¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the arms to rest, ^c

¹¹and your poverty will come like a robber,

your need, like a bandit. ^d

The Malicious Man

¹²A worthless person, ^ea wicked man

goes around speaking dishonestly, ^f

¹³winking ^ghis eyes, signaling with his feet,

and gesturing with his fingers.

¹⁴He always plots evil ^hwith perversity in his heart—

he stirs up trouble. ⁱ

¹⁵Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;

he will be shattered instantly—beyond recovery. ^j

What the Lord Hates

¹⁶The Lord hates six things;

in fact, seven are detestable to Him:

¹⁷arrogant eyes, ^ka lying tongue, ^l

hands that shed innocent blood, ^m

¹⁸a heart that plots wicked schemes, ⁿ

feet eager to run to evil, ^o

¹⁹a lying witness who gives false testimony, ^p

and one who stirs up trouble among brothers. ^q

Warning against Adultery

²⁰My son, keep your father’s command,

and don’t reject your mother’s teaching. ^r

²¹Always bind them to your heart;

tie them around your neck. ^s

²²When you walk here and there, they will guide you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

when you wake up, they will talk to you.

²³For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, ^t

and corrective discipline is the way to life. ^u

²⁴They will protect you from an evil woman, ^v

from the flattering ^wtongue of a stranger. ^x

²⁵Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty ^y

or let her captivate you with her eyelashes. ^z

²⁶For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread, ^a

but an adulteress ^bgoes after a precious life. ^c

²⁷Can a man embrace fire ^d

and his clothes not be burned?

²⁸Can a man walk on burning coals

without scorching his feet?

²⁹So it is with the one who sleeps with

another man’s wife;

no one who touches her will go unpunished. ^e

³⁰People don’t despise the thief if he steals

to satisfy himself when he is hungry. ^f

³¹Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much; ^g

he must give up all the wealth in his house.

³²The one who commits adultery ^hlacks sense;

whoever does so destroys himself. ⁱ

³³He will get a beating ^jand dishonor,

and his disgrace will never be removed.

³⁴For jealousy enrages a husband, ^k

and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

³⁵He will not be appeased by anything

or be persuaded by lavish gifts.

7My son, obey my words,

and treasure my commands. ^l

²Keep my commands and live; ^m

protect my teachings

as the pupil of your eye. ⁿ

³Tie them to your fingers;

write them on the tablet of your heart. ^o

⁴Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” ^p

and call understanding your relative.

⁵She will keep you from a forbidden woman,

a stranger with her flattering talk. ^q

A Story of Seduction

⁶At the window of my house

I looked through my lattice. ^r

⁷I saw among the inexperienced, ^s

I noticed among the youths,

a young man lacking sense.

⁸Crossing the street near her corner,

he strolled down the road to her house

⁹at twilight, in the evening,

in the dark of the night. ^t

¹⁰A woman came to meet him

dressed like a prostitute, ^u

having a hidden agenda. ^v

¹¹She is loud and defiant; ^w

her feet do not stay at home. ^x

¹²Now in the street, now in the squares, ^y

she lurks at every corner. ^z

¹³She grabs him and kisses him;

she brazenly says ^ato him,

¹⁴“I’ve made fellowship offerings; ^b

today I’ve fulfilled my vows. ^c

¹⁵So I came out to meet you,

to search for you, and I’ve found you.

¹⁶I’ve spread coverings on my bed ^d—

richly colored linen from Egypt. ^e

¹⁷I’ve perfumed my bed

with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. ^f

¹⁸Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning. ^g

Let’s feast on each other’s love!

¹⁹My husband isn’t home;

he went on a long journey.

²⁰He took a bag of money with him

and will come home at the time of the full moon.”

²¹She seduces him with her persistent pleading;

she lures with her flattering ^htalk.

²²He follows her impulsively

like an ox going to the slaughter,

like a deer bounding toward a trap ⁱ

²³until an arrow pierces its ^jliver, ^k

like a bird darting into a snare ^l—

he doesn’t know it will cost him his life.

²⁴Now, my sons, listen to me,

and pay attention to the words of my mouth.

²⁵Don’t let your heart turn aside to her ways;

don’t stray onto her paths. ^m

²⁶For she has brought many down to death;

her victims are countless. ⁿ

²⁷Her house is the road to Sheol,

descending to the chambers of death. ^o