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¶ My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my intelligence;

that thou may keep council and that thy lips may conserve knowledge.

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

But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death, her steps uphold Sheol,

lest thou should ponder the path of life, her ways are unstable; thou shalt not know them.

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

Remove thy way far from her, and do not come near the door of her house,

lest thou give thine honour unto others and thy years unto the cruel,

10 lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and thy labours be in the house of a stranger,

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

12 and say, How have I hated chastening and my heart despised reproof

13 and have not obeyed the voice of those who chastened me, nor inclined my ear to those that instructed me!

14 I have been in almost every kind of evil, in the midst of society and of the congregation.

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

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

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

18 Thy fountain shall be blessed; and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

19 Let 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, without eyes for anyone else.

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

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

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

23 He shall die because he did not submit to chastening; and due to the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Warning Against Adultery

My son,(A) pay attention to my wisdom,
    turn your ear to my words(B) 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;(C)
but in the end she is bitter as gall,(D)
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.(E)
She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.(F)

Now then, my sons, listen(G) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
Keep to a path far from her,(H)
    do not go near the door of her house,
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?

21 For your ways are in full view(P) of the Lord,
    and he examines(Q) all your paths.(R)
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;(S)
    the cords of their sins hold them fast.(T)
23 For lack of discipline they will die,(U)
    led astray by their own great folly.(V)

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:9 Or years