Proverbs 5:1–14

My son, be attentive to my wisdom;

incline your ear to my understanding,

that you may keep discretion,

and your lips may guard knowledge.

For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,

and her speech is smoother than oil,

but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,

sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death;

her steps follow the path to Sheol;

she does not ponder the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

And now, O sons, listen to me,

and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

Keep your way far from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

lest you give your honor to others

and your years to the merciless,

lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,

and at the end of your life you groan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

and you say, “How I hated discipline,

and my heart despised reproof!

I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

I am at the brink of utter ruin

in the assembled congregation.”

My son, pay attention to my wisdom,

turn your ear to my words of insight,

that you may maintain discretion

and your lips may preserve knowledge.

For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,

and her speech is smoother than oil;

but in the end she is bitter as gall,

sharp as a double-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death;

her steps lead straight to the grave.

She gives no thought to the way of life;

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

Now then, my sons, listen to me;

do not turn aside from what I say.

Keep to a path far from her,

do not go near the door of her house,

lest you lose your honor to others

and your dignity to one who is cruel,

lest strangers feast on your wealth

and your toil enrich the house of another.

At the end of your life you will groan,

when your flesh and body are spent.

You will say, “How I hated discipline!

How my heart spurned correction!

I would not obey my teachers

or turn my ear to my instructors.

And I was soon in serious trouble

in the assembly of God’s people.”

My son, pay attention to my wisdom;

listen closely to my understanding

so that you may maintain discretion

and your lips safeguard knowledge.

Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey

and her words are smoother than oil,

in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood

and as sharp as a double-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death;

her steps head straight for Sheol.

She doesn’t consider the path of life;

she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.

So now, sons, listen to me,

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

Keep your way far from her.

Don’t go near the door of her house.

Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others

and your years to someone cruel;

strangers will drain your resources,

and your hard-earned pay will end up in a foreigner’s house.

At the end of your life, you will lament

when your physical body has been consumed,

and you will say, “How I hated discipline,

and how my heart despised correction.

I didn’t obey my teachers

or listen closely to my instructors.

I am on the verge of complete ruin

before the entire community.”

My son, pay attention to my wisdom;

listen carefully to my wise counsel.

Then you will show discernment,

and your lips will express what you’ve learned.

For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey,

and her mouth is smoother than oil.

But in the end she is as bitter as poison,

as dangerous as a double-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death;

her steps lead straight to the grave.

For she cares nothing about the path to life.

She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it.

So now, my sons, listen to me.

Never stray from what I am about to say:

Stay away from her!

Don’t go near the door of her house!

If you do, you will lose your honor

and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved.

Strangers will consume your wealth,

and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor.

In the end you will groan in anguish

when disease consumes your body.

You will say, “How I hated discipline!

If only I had not ignored all the warnings!

Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers?

Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?

I have come to the brink of utter ruin,

and now I must face public disgrace.”

My child, be attentive to my wisdom,

and to my understanding incline your ear;

in order to keep prudence,

and knowledge will guard your lips.

For the lips of the strange woman will drip honey,

and smoother than oil is her mouth.

But her end is bitter as the wormwood,

sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death;

her steps take hold of Sheol.

She does not observe the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

Now, O children, listen to me;

do not depart from the sayings of my mouth.

Keep your paths far from her,

and do not go near to the door of her house,

lest you give your honor to the others,

and your years to the merciless,

lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,

and you groan at your end,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

and say “How I hated discipline,

and I despised reproof!”

and “I did not listen to the voice of my teachers,

and I did not incline my ear to my instructors!

I was almost at utter ruin

in the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

My son, attend unto my wisdom,

And bow thine ear to my understanding:

That thou mayest regard discretion,

And that thy lips may keep knowledge.

For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb,

And her mouth is smoother than oil:

But her end is bitter as wormwood,

Sharp as a twoedged sword.

Her feet go down to death;

Her steps take hold on hell.

Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life,

Her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

Hear me now therefore, O ye children,

And depart not from the words of my mouth.

Remove thy way far from her,

And come not nigh the door of her house:

Lest thou give thine honour unto others,

And thy years unto the cruel:

Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth;

And thy labours be in the house of a stranger;

And thou mourn at the last,

When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

And say, How have I hated instruction,

And my heart despised reproof;

And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,

Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

I was almost in all evil

In the midst of the congregation and assembly.