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Proverbs 5
New International Version
Proverbs 5
New International Version
Warning Against Adultery
5 My son,(A) pay attention to my wisdom,
turn your ear to my words(B) of insight,
2 that you may maintain discretion
and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;(C)
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,(D)
sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.(E)
6 She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.(F)
7 Now then, my sons, listen(G) to me;
do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her,(H)
do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you lose your honor to others
and your dignity[a] to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich the house of another.(I)
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!(J)
13 I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble(K)
in the assembly of God’s people.”(L)
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountain(M) be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.(N)
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer(O)—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:9 Or years
Proverbs 5
The Message
Proverbs 5
The Message
Nothing but Sin and Bones
5 1-2 Dear friend, pay close attention to this, my wisdom;
listen very closely to the way I see it.
Then you’ll acquire a taste for good sense;
what I tell you will keep you out of trouble.
3-6 The lips of a seductive woman are oh so sweet,
her soft words are oh so smooth.
But it won’t be long before she’s gravel in your mouth,
a pain in your gut, a wound in your heart.
She’s dancing down the perfumed path to Death;
she’s headed straight for Hell and taking you with her.
She hasn’t a clue about Real Life,
about who she is or where she’s going.
7-14 So, my friend, listen closely;
don’t treat my words casually.
Keep your distance from such a woman;
absolutely stay out of her neighborhood.
You don’t want to squander your wonderful life,
to waste your precious life among the hardhearted.
Why should you allow strangers to take advantage of you?
Why be exploited by those who care nothing for you?
You don’t want to end your life full of regrets,
nothing but sin and bones,
Saying, “Oh, why didn’t I do what they told me?
Why did I reject a disciplined life?
Why didn’t I listen to my mentors,
or take my teachers seriously?
My life is ruined!
I haven’t one blessed thing to show for my life!”
Never Take Love for Granted
15-16 Do you know the saying, “Drink from your own rain barrel,
draw water from your own spring-fed well”?
It’s true. Otherwise, you may one day come home
and find your barrel empty and your well polluted.
17-20 Your spring water is for you and you only,
not to be passed around among strangers.
Bless your fresh-flowing fountain!
Enjoy the wife you married as a young man!
Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose—
don’t ever quit taking delight in her body.
Never take her love for granted!
Why would you trade enduring intimacies for cheap thrills with a prostitute?
for dalliance with a promiscuous stranger?
21-23 Mark well that God doesn’t miss a move you make;
he’s aware of every step you take.
The shadow of your sin will overtake you;
you’ll find yourself stumbling all over yourself in the dark.
Death is the reward of an undisciplined life;
your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.
Proverbs 5
Contemporary English Version
Proverbs 5
Contemporary English Version
Be Faithful to Your Wife
5 My son, if you listen closely
to my wisdom and good sense,
2 you will have sound judgment,
and you will always know
the right thing to say.
3 The words of an immoral woman
may be as sweet as honey
and as smooth as olive oil.
4 But all that you really get
from being with her
is bitter poison and pain.
5 If you follow her,
she will lead you down
to the world of the dead.
6 She has missed the path
that leads to life
and doesn't even know it.
7 My son, listen to me
and do everything I say.
8 Stay away from a bad woman!
Don't even go near the door
of her house.
9 You will lose your self-respect
and end up in debt
to some cruel person
for the rest of your life.
10 Strangers will get your money
and everything else
you have worked for.
11 When it's all over,
your body will waste away,
as you groan 12 and shout,
“I hated advice and correction!
13 I paid no attention
to my teachers,
14 and now I am disgraced
in front of everyone.”
15 You should be faithful
to your wife,
just as you take water
from your own well.[a]
16 And don't be like a stream
from which just any woman
may take a drink.
17 Save yourself for your wife
and don't have sex
with other women.
18 Be happy with the wife
you married
when you were young.
19 She is beautiful and graceful,
just like a deer;
you should be attracted to her
and stay deeply in love.
20 Don't go crazy over a woman
who is unfaithful
to her own husband!
21 The Lord sees everything,
and he watches us closely.
22 Sinners are trapped and caught
by their own evil deeds.
23 They get lost and die
because of their foolishness
and lack of self-control.
Footnotes
- 5.15 own well: In biblical times water was scarce and wells were carefully guarded.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.