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The Peril of Adultery

My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
[a]Lend your ear to my understanding,
That you may [b]preserve discretion,
And your lips (A)may keep knowledge.
(B)For the lips of [c]an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is (C)smoother than oil;
But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death,
(D)Her steps lay hold of [d]hell.
Lest you ponder her path of life—
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know them.

Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,
Lest you give your [e]honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
10 Lest aliens be filled with your [f]wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;
11 And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,
12 And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!
13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!
14 I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.
16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
[g]Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with (E)the wife of your youth.
19 (F)As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be [h]enraptured with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by (G)an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

21 (H)For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He [i]ponders all his paths.
22 (I)His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
23 (J)He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:1 Lit. Bow
  2. Proverbs 5:2 appreciate good judgment
  3. Proverbs 5:3 Lit. a strange
  4. Proverbs 5:5 Or Sheol
  5. Proverbs 5:9 vigor
  6. Proverbs 5:10 Lit. strength
  7. Proverbs 5:16 Channels
  8. Proverbs 5:19 Lit. intoxicated
  9. Proverbs 5:21 observes, lit. weighs

Pitfalls of Immorality

My son, (A)pay attention to my wisdom,
(B)Incline your ear to my understanding,
So that you may (C)maintain discretion
And your (D)lips may comply with knowledge.
For the lips of an [a](E)adulteress (F)drip honey,
And her [b]speech is (G)smoother than oil;
But in the end she is (H)bitter as wormwood,
(I)Sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet (J)go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol.
[c]She does not ponder the (K)path of life;
Her ways are (L)unstable, she (M)does not know it.

(N)Now then, my sons, listen to me
And (O)do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
(P)Keep your way far from her,
And do not go near the (Q)door of her house,
Otherwise you will give your vigor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
10 And strangers will be filled with your strength,
And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;
11 And you will groan [d]in [e]the end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
12 And you say, “How I (R)hated instruction!
And my heart (S)disdainfully rejected rebuke!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my (T)teachers,
Nor incline my ear to my instructors!
14 I was almost in total ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And [f]fresh water from your own well.
16 Should your (U)springs overflow into the street,
Streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your (V)fountain be blessed,
And (W)rejoice in the (X)wife of your youth.
19 Like a loving (Y)doe and a graceful mountain goat,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be [g]exhilarated always with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an [h](Z)adulteress,
And embrace the breasts of a (AA)foreigner?
21 For the (AB)ways of everyone are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He (AC)observes all his paths.
22 His (AD)own wrongdoings will trap the wicked,
And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.
23 He will (AE)die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:3 Lit strange woman
  2. Proverbs 5:3 Lit palate
  3. Proverbs 5:6 Lit That she not watch
  4. Proverbs 5:11 Or at
  5. Proverbs 5:11 Lit your end
  6. Proverbs 5:15 Lit flowing
  7. Proverbs 5:19 Lit intoxicated
  8. Proverbs 5:20 Lit strange woman

Pitfalls of Immorality

My son, be attentive to my wisdom [godly wisdom learned by costly experience],
Incline your ear to my understanding;(A)

That you may exercise discrimination and discretion (good judgment),
And your lips may reserve knowledge and answer wisely [to temptation].

For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey [like a honeycomb]
And her speech is smoother than oil;(B)

But in the end she is bitter like [the extract of] wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death;
Her steps take hold of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),

So that she does not think [seriously] about the path of life;
Her ways are aimless and unstable; you cannot know where her path leads.


Now then, my sons, listen to me
And do not depart from (forget) the words of my mouth.

Let your way [in life] be far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house [avoid even being near the places of temptation],(C)

Or you will give your honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one,
10 
And strangers will be filled with your strength
And your hard-earned wealth will go to the house of a foreigner [who does not know God];
11 
And you will groan when your life is ending,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
12 
And you say, “How I hated instruction and discipline,
And my heart despised correction and reproof!
13 
“I have not listened to the voice of my teachers,
Nor have I inclined my ear to those who instructed me.
14 
“I was almost in total ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

15 
[a]Drink water from your own [b]cistern [of a pure marriage relationship]
And fresh running water from your own well.
16 
Should your [c]springs (children) be dispersed,
As streams of water in the streets?
17 
[Confine yourself to your own wife.] Let your children be yours alone,
And not the children of strangers with you.
18 
Let your fountain (wife) be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity],
And rejoice in the wife of your youth.(D)
19 
Let her be as a loving hind and graceful doe,
Let her breasts refresh and satisfy you at all times;
Always be [d]exhilarated and delight in her love.
20 
Why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an immoral woman
And embrace the bosom of an outsider (pagan)?
21 
For the ways of man are directly before the eyes of the Lord,
And He carefully watches all of his paths [all of his comings and goings].(E)
22 
The iniquities done by a wicked man will trap him,
And he will be held with the cords of his sin.
23 
He will die for lack of instruction (discipline),
And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray and be lost.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:15 All of the Ten Commandments are reflected in the book of Proverbs; here it is the seventh, “You shall not commit adultery.”
  2. Proverbs 5:15 Vv 15-18 describe the purity of a man’s relationship in marriage. The cistern and well represent his wife.
  3. Proverbs 5:16 I.e. children of one’s promiscuity who are fatherless.
  4. Proverbs 5:19 Lit stagger (with passion).

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

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 two-edged 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:

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 instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

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

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

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 waters in the streets.

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

18 Let thy fountain 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.

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

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

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

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