Proverbs 5
American Standard Version
5 My son, attend unto my wisdom;
Incline thine ear to my understanding:
2 That thou mayest preserve discretion,
And that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop honey,
And her mouth is smoother than oil:
4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
Her steps take hold on Sheol;
6 [a]So that she findeth not the level path of life:
Her ways are unstable, and [b]she knoweth it not.
7 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me,
And depart not from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove thy way far from her,
And come not nigh the door of her house;
9 Lest thou give thine honor unto others,
And thy years unto the cruel;
10 Lest strangers be filled with thy [c]strength,
And thy labors be in the house of an alien,
11 And thou [d]mourn at thy latter end,
When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12 And say, How have I hated instruction,
And my heart despised reproof;
13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14 I was well-nigh in all evil
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern,
And running waters out of thine own well.
16 [e]Should thy springs be dispersed abroad,
And streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for thyself alone,
And not for strangers with thee.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed;
And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.
19 As a loving hind and a pleasant doe,
Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times;
And [f]be thou ravished always with her love.
20 For why shouldest thou, my son, [g]be ravished with a strange woman,
And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah;
And he [h]maketh level all his paths.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked,
And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction;
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:6 Or, Lest thou find the level etc. Or, Lest thou weigh carefully the path of life
- Proverbs 5:6 Or, thou canst not know them
- Proverbs 5:10 Or, wealth
- Proverbs 5:11 Or, groan
- Proverbs 5:16 Or, Let
- Proverbs 5:19 Hebrew go astray.
- Proverbs 5:20 Hebrew go astray.
- Proverbs 5:21 Or, weigheth carefully
Proverbs 5
New International Version
Warning Against Adultery
5 My son,(A) pay attention to my wisdom,
turn your ear to my words(B) of insight,
2 that you may maintain discretion
and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;(C)
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,(D)
sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.(E)
6 She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.(F)
7 Now then, my sons, listen(G) to me;
do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her,(H)
do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you lose your honor to others
and your dignity[a] to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich the house of another.(I)
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!(J)
13 I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble(K)
in the assembly of God’s people.”(L)
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountain(M) be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.(N)
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer(O)—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:9 Or years
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