Proverbs
Chapter 5
1 My son, listen to my wisdom, and pay attention to my understanding.
2 So you will value good judgment and your words will hold wisdom.
3 A strange woman’s lips are sweet like honey, and her words are smoother than oil.
4 But her end is as bitter as a bitter plant and sharp like a sword with two edges.
5 Her feet lead to death; her steps reach hell.
6 Be careful thinking about the way of life; its paths are shifting, and you can’t fully understand them.
7 Listen to me now, children, and do not turn away from what I say.
8 Stay far away from her, and don’t go near her house door.
9 Don’t let others take your honor or your life be controlled by the cruel.
10 Be careful that outsiders do not take your riches, and that your hard work does not end up in a foreigner’s home.
11 You will be sad in the end, when your body is wasted away.
12 I say, “Why did I hate to be corrected, and why did my heart reject discipline?”
13 I did not listen to my teachers or pay attention to those who taught me.
14 I was close to being completely evil when I was among the people and the group.
15 Drink water from your own tank, and flowing water from your own well.
16 Let your springs flow freely, and streams of water fill the streets.
17 Keep them for yourself alone, and not for others with you.
18 May your source of life be blessed; be happy with the wife you married when you were young.
19 Let her be like a caring deer and a delightful doe; let her breasts always satisfy you, and always be captivated by her love.
20 Why would you, my son, be enchanted by a woman you don’t know and hug someone else’s wife?
21 God sees all that people do, and he thinks about everywhere they go.
22 The wicked person will be caught by their own wrongdoings and held fast by the ropes of their sins.
23 He will die for lack of teaching, and because of his great foolishness, he will lose his way.