Proverbs 5:1–19

Warning Against Adultery

5My son,^k pay attention to my wisdom,

turn your ear to my words^l of insight,

²that you may maintain discretion

and your lips may preserve knowledge.

³For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,

and her speech is smoother than oil;^m

⁴but in the end she is bitter as gall,ⁿ

sharp as a double-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death;

her steps lead straight to the grave.^o

⁶She gives no thought to the way of life;

her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.^p

⁷Now then, my sons, listen^q to me;

do not turn aside from what I say.

⁸Keep to a path far from her,^r

do not go near the door of her house,

⁹lest you lose your honor to others

and your dignity^a to one who is cruel,

¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth

and your toil enrich the house of another.^s

¹¹At the end of your life you will groan,

when your flesh and body are spent.

¹²You will say, “How I hated discipline!

How my heart spurned correction!^t

¹³I would not obey my teachers

or turn my ear to my instructors.

¹⁴And I was soon in serious trouble^u

in the assembly of God’s people.”^v

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern,

running water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets,

your streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷Let them be yours alone,

never to be shared with strangers.

¹⁸May your fountain^w be blessed,

and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.^x

¹⁹A loving doe, a graceful deer^y—

may her breasts satisfy you always,

may you ever be intoxicated with her love.