Proverbs — Chapter 5

1My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight,

2that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.

3Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,

4in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword.

5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.

6She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.

7So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth.

8Keep your path far from her; do not go near the door of her house,

9lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel;

10lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.

11At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,

12and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!

13I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors.

14I am on the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.”

15Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.

16Why should your springs flow 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 be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:

19A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.

20Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?

21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.

22The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.

23He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.

1My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:

2That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

3For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:

4But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

5Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

6Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

7Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

8Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

9Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:

10Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;

11And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

12And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

13And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

14I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

15Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.

16Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.

17Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.

18Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

19Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.

20And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

21For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

22His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

23He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

1My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding:

2That thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge.

3For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil:

4But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

5Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold on Sheol;

6So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, [and] she knoweth [it] not.

7Now therefore, [my] sons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth.

8Remove thy way far from her, And come not nigh the door of her house;

9Lest thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;

10Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, And thy labors [be] in the house of an alien,

11And thou mourn at thy latter end, When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

12And say, How have I hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof;

13Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

14I was well-nigh in all evil In the midst of the assembly and congregation.

15Drink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well.

16Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets?

17Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.

18Let 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 be thou ravished always with her love.

20For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

21For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah; And he maketh level all his paths.

22His own iniquities shall take the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.

23He shall die for lack of instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

1My child, be attentive to my wisdom; pay close attention to my understanding,

2in order to safeguard discretion and that your lips may guard knowledge.

3For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil,

4but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.

6Lest she should make level the path leading to life, her paths have wandered, but she is not able to discern it.

7So now, children, listen to me; do not turn aside from the words I speak.

8Keep yourself far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,

9lest you give your vigor to others and your years to a cruel person,

10lest strangers devour your strength and your labor benefit another man’s house.

11And at the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are wasted away.

12And you will say, “How I hated discipline! My heart spurned reproof!

13For I did not obey my teachers, and I did not heed my instructors.

14I almost came to complete ruin in the midst of the whole congregation!”

15Drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own well.

16Should your springs be dispersed outside, your streams of water in the wide plazas?

17Let them be for yourself alone and not for strangers with you.

18May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife you married in your youth—

19a loving doe, a graceful deer; may her breasts satisfy you at all times; may you be captivated by her love always.

20But why should you be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, and embrace the bosom of a different woman?

21For the ways of a person are in front of the Lord’s eyes, and the Lord weighs all that person’s paths.

22The wicked will be captured by his own iniquities, and he will be held by the cords of his own sin.

23He will die because there was no discipline; because of the greatness of his folly he will reel.

1My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:

2that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.

3For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,

4but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.

5Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.

6She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it.

7Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don’t depart from the words of my mouth.

8Remove your way far from her. Don’t come near the door of her house,

9lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;

10lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man’s house.

11You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,

12and say, “How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

13neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!

14I have come to the brink of utter ruin, among the gathered assembly.”

15Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.

16Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?

17Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.

18Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

19A loving doe and a graceful deer— let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.

20For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?

21For the ways of man are before Yahweh’s eyes. He examines all his paths.

22The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

23He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.