For the lips of (A)a forbidden[a] woman drip honey,
    and her speech[b] is (B)smoother than oil,
but in the end she is (C)bitter as (D)wormwood,
    (E)sharp as (F)a two-edged sword.
Her feet (G)go down to death;
    her steps follow the path to[c] Sheol;
she (H)does not ponder the path of life;
    her ways wander, and she does not know it.

And (I)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,
10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
    and your (J)labors go to the house of a foreigner,
11 and at the end of your life you (K)groan,
    when your flesh and body are consumed,

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew strange; also verse 20
  2. Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew palate
  3. Proverbs 5:5 Hebrew lay hold of

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