Proverbs 5-9
Christian Standard Bible
Avoid Seduction
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
listen closely[a] to my understanding(A)
2 so that you may maintain discretion
and your lips safeguard knowledge.(B)
3 Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey
and her words are[b] smoother than oil,
4 in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood(C)
and as sharp as a double-edged sword.(D)
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps head straight for Sheol.(E)
6 She doesn’t consider the path of life;
she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.
7 So now, sons, listen to me,
and don’t turn away from the words from my mouth.(F)
8 Keep your way far from her.
Don’t go near the door of her house.(G)
9 Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others
and your years to someone cruel;
10 strangers will drain your resources,
and your hard-earned pay will end up in a foreigner’s house.
11 At the end of your life, you will lament
when your physical body has been consumed,
12 and you will say, “How I hated discipline,
and how my heart despised correction.(H)
13 I didn’t obey my teachers
or listen closely[c] to my instructors.
14 I am on the verge of complete ruin
before the entire community.”
Enjoy Marriage
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
water flowing from your own well.(I)
16 Should your springs flow in the streets,
streams in the public squares?(J)
17 They should be for you alone
and not for you to share with strangers.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
and take pleasure in the wife of your youth.(K)
19 A loving deer, a graceful doe[d]—
let her breasts always satisfy you;(L)
be lost in her love forever.
20 Why, my son, would you lose yourself
with a forbidden woman
or embrace a wayward woman?(M)
21 For a man’s ways are before the Lord’s eyes,(N)
and he considers all his paths.(O)
22 A wicked man’s iniquities will trap him;(P)
he will become tangled in the ropes of his own sin.(Q)
23 He will die because there is no discipline,(R)
and be lost because of his great stupidity.
Financial Entanglements
6 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor[e]
or entered into an agreement with[f] a stranger,(S)
2 you have been snared by the words of your mouth—
trapped by the words from your mouth.
3 Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,
for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:
Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
4 Don’t give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.(T)
5 Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,[g]
like a bird from a hunter’s trap.[h](U)
Laziness
6 Go to the ant,(V) you slacker!(W)
Observe its ways and become wise.
7 Without leader, administrator, or ruler,
8 it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food during harvest.(X)
9 How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.(Y)
The Malicious Man
12 A worthless person,(Z) a wicked man
goes around speaking dishonestly,(AA)
13 winking(AB) his eyes, signaling with his feet,
and gesturing with his fingers.
14 He always plots evil(AC) with perversity in his heart;
he stirs up trouble.(AD)
15 Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;
he will be shattered instantly, beyond recovery.(AE)
What the Lord Hates
16 The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to him:
17 arrogant eyes,(AF) a lying tongue,(AG)
hands that shed innocent blood,(AH)
18 a heart that plots wicked schemes,(AI)
feet eager to run to evil,(AJ)
19 a lying witness who gives false testimony,(AK)
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.(AL)
Warning against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.(AM)
21 Always bind them to your heart;
tie them around your neck.(AN)
22 When you walk here and there, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.
23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,(AO)
and corrective discipline is the way to life.(AP)
24 They will protect you from an evil woman,[i]
from the flattering tongue of a wayward woman.(AQ)
25 Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty(AR)
or let her captivate you with her eyelashes.(AS)
26 For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,[j]
but the wife of another man[k] goes after a precious life.(AT)
27 Can a man embrace fire
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can a man walk on burning coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So it is with the one who sleeps with
another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.(AU)
30 People don’t despise the thief if he steals
to satisfy himself when he is hungry.(AV)
31 Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much;(AW)
he must give up all the wealth in his house.
32 The one who commits adultery[l] lacks sense;
whoever does so destroys himself.(AX)
33 He will get a beating[m] and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be removed.
34 For jealousy enrages a husband,(AY)
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not be appeased by anything
or be persuaded by lavish bribes.
7 My son, obey my words,
and treasure my commands.(AZ)
2 Keep my commands and live,(BA)
and guard my instructions
as you would the pupil of your eye.(BB)
3 Tie them to your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.(BC)
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”(BD)
and call understanding your relative.
5 She will keep you from a forbidden woman,
a wayward woman with her flattering talk.(BE)
A Story of Seduction
6 At the window of my house
I looked through my lattice.(BF)
7 I saw among the inexperienced,[n]
I noticed among the youths,
a young man lacking sense.
8 Crossing the street near her corner,
he strolled down the road to her house
9 at twilight, in the evening,
in the dark of the night.(BG)
10 A woman came to meet him
dressed like a prostitute,(BH)
having a hidden agenda.[o]
11 She is loud and defiant;(BI)
her feet do not stay at home.(BJ)
12 Now in the street, now in the squares,(BK)
she lurks at every corner.(BL)
13 She grabs him and kisses him;
she brazenly says[p] to him,
14 “I’ve made fellowship offerings;
today I’ve fulfilled my vows.(BM)
15 So I came out to meet you,
to search for you, and I’ve found you.
16 I’ve spread coverings on my bed(BN)—
richly colored linen from Egypt.(BO)
17 I’ve perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.(BP)
18 Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning.(BQ)
Let’s feast on each other’s love!
19 My husband isn’t home;
he went on a long journey.
20 He took a bag of silver with him
and will come home at the time of the full moon.”
21 She seduces him with her persistent pleading;
she lures with her flattering talk.
22 He follows her impulsively
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer bounding toward a trap[q]
23 until an arrow pierces its[r] liver,(BR)
like a bird darting into a snare(BS)—
he doesn’t know it will cost him his life.
24 Now, sons, listen to me,
and pay attention to the words from my mouth.
25 Don’t let your heart turn aside to her ways;
don’t stray onto her paths.(BT)
26 For she has brought many down to death;
her victims are countless.[s]
27 Her house is the road to Sheol,
descending to the chambers of death.(BU)
Wisdom’s Appeal
8 Doesn’t wisdom(BV) call out?
Doesn’t understanding make her voice heard?
2 At the heights overlooking the road,
at the crossroads, she takes her stand.
3 Beside the gates(BW) leading into the city,
at the main entrance, she cries out:
4 “People, I call out to you;
my cry is to the children of Adam.
5 Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced;
develop common sense, you who are foolish.
6 Listen, for I speak of noble things,
and what my lips say is right.
7 For my mouth tells the truth,(BX)
and wickedness is detestable to my lips.
8 All the words from my mouth are righteous;
none of them are deceptive or perverse.(BY)
9 All of them are clear to the perceptive,(BZ)
and right to those who discover knowledge.
10 Accept my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.(CA)
11 For wisdom is better than jewels,(CB)
and nothing desirable can equal it.(CC)
12 I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness
and have knowledge and discretion.(CD)
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil.(CE)
I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct,
and perverse speech.
14 I possess good advice and sound wisdom;[t]
I have understanding and strength.(CF)
15 It is by me that kings reign(CG)
and rulers enact just law;
16 by me, princes lead,
as do nobles and all righteous judges.[u]
17 I love those who love me,(CH)
and those who search for me find me.(CI)
18 With me are riches and honor,(CJ)
lasting wealth and righteousness.(CK)
19 My fruit is better than solid gold,
and my harvest than pure silver.(CL)
20 I walk in the ways of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21 giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.
22 “The Lord acquired[v] me
at the beginning of his creation,[w]
before his works of long ago.(CM)
23 I was formed[x] before ancient times,
from the beginning, before the earth began.(CN)
24 I was born
when there were no watery depths(CO)
and no springs filled with water.
25 Before the mountains were established,
prior to the hills,(CP) I was given birth—
26 before he made the land, the fields,
or the first soil on earth.
27 I was there when he established the heavens,(CQ)
when he laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean,(CR)
28 when he placed the skies above,
when the fountains of the ocean gushed out,
29 when he set a limit for the sea
so that the waters would not violate his command,(CS)
when he laid out the foundations of the earth.(CT)
30 I was a skilled craftsman[y] beside him.(CU)
I was his[z] delight every day,
always rejoicing before him.
31 I was rejoicing in his inhabited world,(CV)
delighting in the children of Adam.(CW)
32 “And now, sons, listen to me;
those who keep my ways are happy.(CX)
33 Listen to instruction and be wise;(CY)
don’t ignore it.
34 Anyone who listens to me is happy,(CZ)
watching at my doors every day,
waiting by the posts of my doorway.
35 For the one who finds me finds life(DA)
and obtains favor from the Lord,(DB)
36 but the one who misses me[aa] harms himself;(DC)
all who hate me love death.”(DD)
Wisdom versus Foolishness
9 Wisdom has built her house;(DE)
she has carved out her seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her meat;(DF) she has mixed her wine;(DG)
she has also set her table.(DH)
3 She has sent out her female servants;(DI)
she calls out from the highest points of the city:(DJ)
4 “Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!”
To the one who lacks sense,(DK) she says,
5 “Come, eat my bread,(DL)
and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave inexperience behind, and you will live;
pursue the way of understanding.
7 The one who corrects a mocker
will bring abuse on himself;
the one who rebukes the wicked will get hurt.[ab]
8 Don’t rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you;(DM)
rebuke the wise, and he will love you.(DN)
9 Instruct the wise, and he will be wiser still;
teach the righteous, and he will learn more.(DO)
10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,(DP)
and the knowledge of the Holy One(DQ) is understanding.
11 For by me your days will be many,
and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, you are wise for your own benefit;(DR)
if you mock, you alone will bear the consequences.”
13 Folly is a rowdy woman;(DS)
she is gullible and knows nothing.(DT)
14 She sits by the doorway of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
15 calling to those who pass by,
who go straight ahead on their paths:(DU)
16 “Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!”
To the one who lacks sense, she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten secretly is tasty!” (DV)
18 But he doesn’t know that the departed spirits are there,(DW)
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.(DX)
Footnotes
- 5:1 Lit wisdom; stretch out your ear
- 5:3 Lit her palate is
- 5:13 Lit or turn my ear
- 5:19 Or graceful mountain goat
- 6:1 Or friend
- 6:1 Lit or slapped hands for
- 6:5 Lit hand
- 6:5 Lit hand
- 6:24 LXX reads from a married woman
- 6:26 Or On account of a prostitute, one is left with only a loaf of bread
- 6:26 Lit but a wife of a man
- 6:32 Lit commits adultery with a woman
- 6:33 Or plague
- 7:7 Or simple, or gullible, or naive
- 7:10 Or prostitute with a guarded heart
- 7:13 Lit she makes her face strong and says
- 7:22 Text emended; MT reads like a shackle to the discipline of a fool; Hb obscure
- 7:23 Or his
- 7:26 Or and powerful men are all her victims
- 8:14 Or resourcefulness
- 8:16 Some Hb mss, LXX read nobles who judge the earth
- 8:22 Or possessed, or made
- 8:22 Lit way
- 8:23 Or consecrated
- 8:30 Or a confidant, or a child, or was constantly
- 8:30 LXX; MT omits his
- 8:36 Or who sins against me
- 9:7 Lit man: his blemish
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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