Proverbs 5:1-7:27

Warning Against Adultery 1My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight,

2that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.

3For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;

4but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.

5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.

6She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.

7Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.

8Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,

9lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity Or years to one who is cruel,

10lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another.

11At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.

12You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!

13I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors.

14And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God’s people.”

15Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.

16Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?

17Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.

18May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.

19A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.

20Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

21For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths.

22The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. 23For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.

Warnings Against Folly 1My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,

2you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth.

3So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go—to the point of exhaustion— Or Go and humble yourself, and give your neighbor no rest!

4Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.

5Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

6Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!

7It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,

8yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

9How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?

10A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—

11and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.

12A troublemaker and a villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth,

13who winks maliciously with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers,

14who plots evil with deceit in his heart— he always stirs up conflict.

15Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

16There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:

17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,

18a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Warning Against Adultery 20My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

21Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck.

22When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.

23For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life,

24keeping you from your neighbor’s wife, from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.

25Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.

26For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread, but another man’s wife preys on your very life.

27Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?

28Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?

29So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.

30People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.

31Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house.

32But a man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself.

33Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away.

34For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge. 35He will not accept any compensation; he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.

Warning Against the Adulterous Woman 1My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you.

2Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

3Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.

4Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and to insight, “You are my relative.”

5They will keep you from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words.

6At the window of my house I looked down through the lattice.

7I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who had no sense.

8He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house

9at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.

10Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.

11(She is unruly and defiant, her feet never stay at home;

12now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.)

13She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said:

14“Today I fulfilled my vows, and I have food from my fellowship offering at home.

15So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you!

16I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt.

17I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

18Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love!

19My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.

20He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon.”

21With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.

22All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew fool stepping into a noose The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.

23till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.

24Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say.

25Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths.

26Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. 27Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.