Proverbs 5

Pitfalls Of Immorality

1My son, be attentive to my wisdom [godly wisdom learned by costly experience],
Incline your ear to my understanding; 2That you may exercise discrimination and discretion (good judgment),
And your lips may reserve knowledge and answer wisely [to temptation]. 3For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey [like a honeycomb]
And her speech is smoother than oil; 4But in the end she is bitter like [the extract of] wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5Her feet go down to death;
Her steps take hold of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), 6So that she does not think [seriously] about the path of life;
Her ways are aimless and unstable; you cannot know where her path leads. 7Now then, my sons, listen to me
And do not depart from (forget) the words of my mouth. 8Let 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], 9Or you will give your honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one, 10And 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]; 11And you will groan when your life is ending,
When your flesh and your body are consumed; 12And 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.” 15Drink water from your own cistern [of a pure marriage relationship]
And fresh running water from your own well. 16Should your 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. 18Let your fountain (wife) be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity],
And rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19Let her be as a loving hind and graceful doe,
Let her breasts refresh and satisfy you at all times;
Always be exhilarated and delight in her love. 20Why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an immoral woman
And embrace the bosom of an outsider (pagan)? 21For 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]. 22The iniquities done by a wicked man will trap him,
And he will be held with the cords of his sin. 23He will die for lack of instruction (discipline),
And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray and be lost.