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Proverbs 5
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Proverbs 5
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Warning against Impurity and Infidelity
5 My child, be attentive to my wisdom;
incline your ear to my understanding,
2 so that you may hold on to prudence,
and your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips of a loose[a] woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;
4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps follow the path to Sheol.
6 She does not keep straight to the path of life;
her ways wander, and she does not know it.
7 And now, my child,[b] listen to me,
and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her,
and do not go near the door of her house;
9 or you will give your honor to others,
and your years to the merciless,
10 and strangers will take their fill of your wealth,
and your labors will go to the house of an alien;
11 and at the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you say, “Oh, how I hated discipline,
and my heart despised reproof!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
or incline my ear to my instructors.
14 Now I am at the point of utter ruin
in the public assembly.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well.
16 Should your springs be scattered abroad,
streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for sharing with strangers.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
May her breasts satisfy you at all times;
may you be intoxicated always by her love.
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, by another woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
21 For human ways are under the eyes of the Lord,
and he examines all their paths.
22 The iniquities of the wicked ensnare them,
and they are caught in the toils of their sin.
23 They die for lack of discipline,
and because of their great folly they are lost.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:3 Heb strange
- Proverbs 5:7 Gk Vg: Heb children
Proverbs 5
Good News Translation
Proverbs 5
Good News Translation
Warning against Adultery
5 My child, pay attention and listen to my wisdom and insight. 2 Then you will know how to behave properly, and your words will show that you have knowledge. 3 The lips of another man's wife may be as sweet as honey and her kisses as smooth as olive oil, 4 but when it is all over, she leaves you nothing but bitterness and pain. 5 She will take you down to the world of the dead; the road she walks is the road to death. 6 She does not stay on the road to life; but wanders off, and does not realize what is happening.
7 Now listen to me, sons, and never forget what I am saying. 8 Keep away from such a woman! Don't even go near her door! 9 If you do, others will gain the respect that you once had, and you will die young at the hands of merciless people. 10 Yes, strangers will take all your wealth, and what you have worked for will belong to someone else. 11 You will lie groaning on your deathbed, your flesh and muscles being eaten away, 12 and you will say, “Why would I never learn? Why would I never let anyone correct me? 13 I wouldn't listen to my teachers. I paid no attention to them. 14 And suddenly I found myself[a] publicly disgraced.”
15 Be faithful to your own wife and give your love to her alone. 16 Children that you have by other women will do you no good. 17 Your children should grow up to help you, not strangers. 18 So be happy with your wife and find your joy with the woman you married— 19 pretty and graceful as a deer. Let her charms keep you happy; let her surround you with her love. 20 Son, why should you give your love to another woman? Why should you prefer the charms of another man's wife? 21 The Lord sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching. 22 The sins of the wicked are a trap. They get caught in the net of their own sin. 23 They die because they have no self-control. Their utter stupidity will send them to their graves.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:14 And suddenly … myself; or I was about to be.
Proverbs 5
New American Standard Bible
Proverbs 5
New American Standard Bible
Pitfalls of Immorality
5 My son, (A)pay attention to my wisdom,
(B)Incline your ear to my understanding,
2 So that you may (C)maintain discretion
And your (D)lips may comply with knowledge.
3 For the lips of an [a](E)adulteress (F)drip honey,
And her [b]speech is (G)smoother than oil;
4 But in the end she is (H)bitter as wormwood,
(I)Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet (J)go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol.
6 [c]She does not ponder the (K)path of life;
Her ways are (L)unstable, she (M)does not know it.
7 (N)Now then, my sons, listen to me
And (O)do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
8 (P)Keep your way far from her,
And do not go near the (Q)door of her house,
9 Otherwise you will give your vigor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
10 And strangers will be filled with your strength,
And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;
11 And you will groan [d]in [e]the end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
12 And you say, “How I (R)hated instruction!
And my heart (S)disdainfully rejected rebuke!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my (T)teachers,
Nor incline my ear to my instructors!
14 I was almost in total ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And [f]fresh water from your own well.
16 Should your (U)springs overflow into the street,
Streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your (V)fountain be blessed,
And (W)rejoice in the (X)wife of your youth.
19 Like a loving (Y)doe and a graceful mountain goat,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be [g]exhilarated always with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an [h](Z)adulteress,
And embrace the breasts of a (AA)foreigner?
21 For the (AB)ways of everyone are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He (AC)observes all his paths.
22 His (AD)own wrongdoings will trap the wicked,
And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.
23 He will (AE)die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:3 Lit strange woman
- Proverbs 5:3 Lit palate
- Proverbs 5:6 Lit That she not watch
- Proverbs 5:11 Or at
- Proverbs 5:11 Lit your end
- Proverbs 5:15 Lit flowing
- Proverbs 5:19 Lit intoxicated
- Proverbs 5:20 Lit strange woman
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
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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.