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My son, be attentive to my Wisdom [godly Wisdom learned by actual and costly experience], and incline your ear to my understanding [of what is becoming and prudent for you],

That you may exercise proper discrimination and discretion and your lips may guard and keep knowledge and the wise answer [to temptation].

For the lips of a loose woman drip honey as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil;(A)

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

Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold of Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead).

She loses sight of and walks not in the path of life; her ways wind about aimlessly, and you cannot know them.

Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

Let your way in life be far from her, and come not near the door of her house [avoid the very scenes of temptation],(B)

Lest you give your honor to others and your years to those without mercy,

10 Lest strangers [and false teachings] take their fill of your strength and wealth and your labors go to the house of an alien [from God]—

11 And you groan and mourn when your end comes, when your flesh and body are consumed,

12 And you say, How I hated instruction and discipline, and my heart despised reproof!

13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers nor submitted and consented to those who instructed me.

14 [The extent and boldness of] my sin involved almost all evil [in the estimation] of the congregation and the community.

15 [a]Drink waters out of your own cistern [of a pure marriage relationship], and fresh running waters out of your own well.

16 Should your offspring be dispersed abroad as water brooks in the streets?

17 [Confine yourself to your own wife] let your children be for you alone, and not the children of strangers with you.

18 Let your fountain [of human life] be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], and rejoice in the wife of your youth.

19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant doe [tender, gentle, attractive]—let her bosom satisfy you at all times, and always be transported with delight in her love.

20 Why should you, my son, be infatuated with a loose woman, embrace the bosom of an outsider, and go astray?

21 For the ways of man are directly before the eyes of the Lord, and He [Who would have us live soberly, chastely, and godly] carefully weighs all man’s goings.(C)

22 His own iniquities shall ensnare the wicked man, and he shall be held with the cords of his sin.

23 He will die for lack of discipline and instruction, and in the greatness of his folly 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.”

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