1My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, (Pr 2:1; Pr 4:20; Pr 22:17)2that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. (Pr 1:4; Mal 2:7)3For the lips of a forbidden[1] woman drip honey, and her speech[2] is smoother than oil, (Ps 55:21; Pr 2:16)4but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. (De 29:18; Ps 55:21; Ps 57:4; Ps 149:6; Ec 7:26; Jer 9:15; La 3:15; La 3:19; Re 8:11)5Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to[3] Sheol; (Pr 7:27)6she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. (Pr 4:26; Pr 5:21)7And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. (Pr 4:1)8Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,9lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,10lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, (Ps 127:2)11and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, (Eze 24:23)12and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! (Ps 107:11; Pr 1:22; Pr 1:25; Pr 1:29; Pr 12:1)13I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.14I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” (Ps 94:17)15Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. (Pr 5:18; Pr 9:17; So 4:12; So 4:15; Jer 2:13)16Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? (Ps 68:26; Jer 9:21; Zec 8:5)17Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. (Pr 14:10)18Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, (De 24:5; Pr 5:15; Mal 2:14)19a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated[4] always in her love. (So 2:9; So 2:17; So 8:14; Jer 31:14)20Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?[5] (Pr 2:16)21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders[6] all his paths. (Job 14:16; Ps 11:4; Ps 119:168; Pr 5:6; Ho 7:2; Heb 4:13)22The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. (Ps 7:15; Pr 6:2)23He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray. (Job 4:21; Job 12:24)
Proverbs 5
New International Version
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 honour to others and your dignity[1] 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.