Proverbs 5
1 My son, attend unto my wisdom; incline thine ear to my understanding:
My son, attend to my wisdom, [and] bow thy ear to my understanding:
2 That thou mayest preserve discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
That thou mayest regard discretion, and [that] thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
For the lips of a strange woman drop [as] a honey-comb, and her mouth [is] smoother than oil:
4 But her latter end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. (Sheol h7585)
6 So that she findeth not the level path of life: her ways are unstable [and] she knoweth [it] not.
Lest thou shouldst ponder the path of life, her ways are movable, [that] thou canst not know [them].
7 Now therefore, [my] sons, hearken unto me, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
Lest thou give thy honor to others, and thy years to the cruel:
10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength; and thy labours [be] in the house of an alien;
Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labors [be] in the house of a stranger;
11 And thou mourn at thy latter end, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to them that instructed me!
14 I was well nigh in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
Drink waters out of thy own cistern, and running waters out of thy own well.
16 Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, and rivers of water in the streets?
Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, [and] rivers of waters in the streets.
17 Let them be for thyself alone, and not for strangers with thee.
Let them be only thy own, and not for strangers with thee.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed; and rejoice in the wife of thy youth.
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
19 [As] a loving hind and a pleasant doe, let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
[Let her be as] the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
20 For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he maketh level all his paths.
For the ways of man [are] before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.
His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be held with the cords of his sins.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
