Proverbs 5

CHAPTER 5

Warning Against Adultery

¹My son, ^apay attention to my wisdom,

^bIncline your ear to my discernment;

²That you may ^akeep discretion

And that your ^blips may guard knowledge.

³For the lips of a ^astrange woman ^bdrip honey

And ^csmoother than oil is her ¹speech;

⁴But her end is ^abitter as wormwood,

^bSharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet ^ago down to death,

Her steps take hold of Sheol,

⁶Lest she watch the ^apath of life;

Her tracks are ^bunstable, she ^cdoes not know it.

^7aSo now, my sons, listen to me

And ^bdo not turn away from the words of my mouth.

^8aKeep your way far from her

And do not go near the ^bdoor of her house,

⁹Lest you give your splendor to others

And your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰Lest strangers be satisfied by your strength

And by your painful labor, those in the house of a foreigner;

¹¹And you groan at your ¹end,

When your flesh and your body are consumed;

¹²And you say, “How I have ^ahated discipline!

And my heart ^bspurned reproof!

¹³“I have not listened to the voice of my ^ainstructors,

And I have not inclined my ear to my teachers!

¹⁴“I was almost in utter ruin

In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern

And ¹fresh water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your ^asprings be dispersed abroad,

Streams of water in the streets?

¹⁷Let them be for you alone,

And not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your ^afountain be blessed,

And ^bbe glad in the ^cwife of your youth.

¹⁹As a loving ^ahind and a graceful doe,

Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;

Be ¹intoxicated always with her love.

²⁰So why should you, my son, be intoxicated with a ^astrange woman

And embrace the bosom of a ^bforeign woman?

²¹For the ^aways of a man are before the eyes of Yahweh,

And He ^bwatches all his tracks.

²²His ^aown iniquities will capture him who is the wicked one,

And with the cords of his sin he will be held fast.

²³He will ^adie for lack of discipline,

And in the abundance of his ¹folly he will ²stumble in intoxication.