Proverbs 5:1–19

Warning About Adultery

5My son, pay attention to my wisdom;

listen to my words of understanding.

²Be careful to use good sense,

and watch what you say.

³The words of another man’s wife may seem sweet as honey;

they may be as smooth as olive oil.

⁴But in the end she will bring you sorrow,

causing you pain like a two-edged sword.

⁵She is on the way to death;

her steps are headed straight to the grave.

⁶She gives little thought to life.

She doesn’t even know that her ways are wrong.

⁷Now, my sons, listen to me,

and don’t ignore what I say.

⁸Stay away from such a woman.

Don’t even go near the door of her house,

⁹or you will give your riches to others,

and the best years of your life will be given to someone cruel.

¹⁰Strangers will enjoy your wealth,

and what you worked so hard for will go to someone else.

¹¹You will groan at the end of your life

when your health is gone.

¹²Then you will say, “I hated being told what to do!

I would not listen to correction!

¹³I would not listen to my teachers

or pay attention to my instructors.

¹⁴I came close to being completely ruined

in front of a whole group of people.”

¹⁵Be faithful to your own wife,

just as you drink water from your own well.

¹⁶Don’t pour your water in the streets;

don’t give your love to just any woman.

¹⁷These things are yours alone

and shouldn’t be shared with strangers.

¹⁸Be happy with the wife you married when you were young.

She gives you joy, as your fountain gives you water.

¹⁹She is as lovely and graceful as a deer.

Let her love always make you happy;

let her love always hold you captive.