Proverbs 5
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.
Proverbs 5
International Standard Version
Warning against Sexual Immorality
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
and listen closely to my insight,
2 so you may carefully practice[a] discretion
and your lips preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey,
and her speech[b] is smoother than oil.
4 But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood,[c]
and as sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead to Sheol.[d]
6 You aren’t thinking about[e] where her life is headed;
her steps wander, but you do not realize[f] it.
7 Now, children,[g] listen to me.
Don’t turn away from what I am saying.[h]
8 Keep[i] far away from her,
and don’t go near the entrance to her house,
9 so that you don’t give your honor to others,
and waste your best years;[j]
10 so that strangers don’t enrich themselves at your expense,[k]
and your work won’t end up the possession of foreigners.[l]
11 You will cry out in anguish when your end comes,
when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you will say, “How I hated instruction,[m]
and my heart rejected correction!
13 I did not obey my teachers
and did not listen[n] to my instructors.
14 Now I am at the point of utter disaster
in[o] the assembly and in the congregation.”
The Delights of Marital Faithfulness
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
and fresh[p] water from your own well.
16 Should your springs flow outside,
or streams of water in the street?
17 They should be for you alone
and not for strangers who are with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed
and enjoy the wife of your youth.
19 Like a loving deer, a beautiful doe,
let her breasts satisfy you all the time.
Be constantly intoxicated by her love.
20 Why should you be intoxicated by an adulteress, my son,
and embrace the bosom of a foreign woman?
21 Indeed, what a man does is[q] always in the Lord’s presence,[r]
and he weighs all his paths.
22 The wicked person’s iniquities will capture him,
and he will be held with the cords of his sin.
23 He will die for lack of discipline,
and he goes astray because of his great folly.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:2 Lit. guard
- Proverbs 5:3 Lit. palate
- Proverbs 5:4 Wormwood is a plant with an extremely bitter taste.
- Proverbs 5:5 I.e. the realm of the dead
- Proverbs 5:6 Or She does not consider
- Proverbs 5:6 Or she does not realize
- Proverbs 5:7 Or sons
- Proverbs 5:7 Lit. from the words of my mouth
- Proverbs 5:8 Lit. Keep your path
- Proverbs 5:9 Lit. and your years to the cruel
- Proverbs 5:10 Lit. don’t satisfy themselves with your strength
- Proverbs 5:10 Lit. won’t go into a foreigner’s house
- Proverbs 5:12 Or discipline
- Proverbs 5:13 Lit. incline my ear
- Proverbs 5:14 Lit. in the midst of
- Proverbs 5:15 Lit. flowing
- Proverbs 5:21 Lit. Indeed, a man’s ways are
- Proverbs 5:21 Lit. in front of the Lord’s eyes
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.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
