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Proverbs 5-9
New International Version
Proverbs 5-9
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?
21 For your ways are in full view(P) of the Lord,
and he examines(Q) all your paths.(R)
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;(S)
the cords of their sins hold them fast.(T)
23 For lack of discipline they will die,(U)
led astray by their own great folly.(V)
Warnings Against Folly
6 My son,(W) if you have put up security(X) for your neighbor,(Y)
if you have shaken hands in pledge(Z) for a stranger,
2 you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
3 So do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—[b]
and give your neighbor no rest!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.(AA)
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle(AB) from the hand of the hunter,(AC)
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.(AD)
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;(AE)
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer(AF)
and gathers its food at harvest.(AG)
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?(AH)
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest(AI)—
11 and poverty(AJ) will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.
12 A troublemaker and a villain,
who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13 who winks maliciously with his eye,(AK)
signals with his feet
and motions with his fingers,(AL)
14 who plots evil(AM) with deceit in his heart—
he always stirs up conflict.(AN)
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;(AO)
he will suddenly(AP) be destroyed—without remedy.(AQ)
16 There are six things the Lord hates,(AR)
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,(AS)
a lying tongue,(AT)
hands that shed innocent blood,(AU)
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,(AV)
19 a false witness(AW) who pours out lies(AX)
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.(AY)
Warning Against Adultery
20 My son,(AZ) keep your father’s command
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(BA)
21 Bind them always on your heart;
fasten them around your neck.(BB)
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For this command is a lamp,
this teaching is a light,(BC)
and correction and instruction
are the way to life,(BD)
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.(BE)
25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes.
26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
but another man’s wife preys on your very life.(BF)
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?
29 So is he who sleeps(BG) with another man’s wife;(BH)
no one who touches her will go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,(BI)
though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adultery(BJ) has no sense;(BK)
whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
and his shame will never(BL) be wiped away.
34 For jealousy(BM) arouses a husband’s fury,(BN)
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not accept any compensation;
he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.(BO)
Warning Against the Adulterous Woman
7 My son,(BP) keep my words
and store up my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and you will live;(BQ)
guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.(BR)
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and to insight, “You are my relative.”
5 They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words.(BS)
6 At the window of my house
I looked down through the lattice.
7 I saw among the simple,
I noticed among the young men,
a youth who had no sense.(BT)
8 He was going down the street near her corner,
walking along in the direction of her house
9 at twilight,(BU) as the day was fading,
as the dark of night set in.
10 Then out came a woman to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
11 (She is unruly(BV) and defiant,
her feet never stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the squares,
at every corner she lurks.)(BW)
13 She took hold of him(BX) and kissed him
and with a brazen face she said:(BY)
14 “Today I fulfilled my vows,
and I have food from my fellowship offering(BZ) at home.
15 So I came out to meet you;
I looked for you and have found you!
16 I have covered my bed
with colored linens from Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed(CA)
with myrrh,(CB) aloes and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning;
let’s enjoy ourselves with love!(CC)
19 My husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey.
20 He took his purse filled with money
and will not be home till full moon.”
21 With persuasive words she led him astray;
she seduced him with her smooth talk.(CD)
22 All at once he followed her
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer[c] stepping into a noose[d](CE)
23 till an arrow pierces(CF) his liver,
like a bird darting into a snare,
little knowing it will cost him his life.(CG)
24 Now then, my sons, listen(CH) to me;
pay attention to what I say.
25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways
or stray into her paths.(CI)
26 Many are the victims she has brought down;
her slain are a mighty throng.
27 Her house is a highway to the grave,
leading down to the chambers of death.(CJ)
Wisdom’s Call
8 Does not wisdom call out?(CK)
Does not understanding raise her voice?
2 At the highest point along the way,
where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3 beside the gate leading into the city,
at the entrance, she cries aloud:(CL)
4 “To you, O people, I call out;(CM)
I raise my voice to all mankind.
5 You who are simple,(CN) gain prudence;(CO)
you who are foolish, set your hearts on it.[e]
6 Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say;
I open my lips to speak what is right.
7 My mouth speaks what is true,(CP)
for my lips detest wickedness.
8 All the words of my mouth are just;
none of them is crooked or perverse.
9 To the discerning all of them are right;
they are upright to those who have found knowledge.
10 Choose my instruction instead of silver,
knowledge rather than choice gold,(CQ)
11 for wisdom is more precious(CR) than rubies,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.(CS)
12 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
I possess knowledge and discretion.(CT)
13 To fear the Lord(CU) is to hate evil;(CV)
I hate(CW) pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech.
14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
I have insight, I have power.(CX)
15 By me kings reign
and rulers(CY) issue decrees that are just;
16 by me princes govern,(CZ)
and nobles—all who rule on earth.[f]
17 I love those who love me,(DA)
and those who seek me find me.(DB)
18 With me are riches and honor,(DC)
enduring wealth and prosperity.(DD)
19 My fruit is better than fine gold;(DE)
what I yield surpasses choice silver.(DF)
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,(DG)
along the paths of justice,
21 bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me
and making their treasuries full.(DH)
22 “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,[g][h]
before his deeds of old;
23 I was formed long ages ago,
at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;(DI)
25 before the mountains were settled in place,(DJ)
before the hills, I was given birth,(DK)
26 before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth.(DL)
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,(DM)
when he marked out the horizon(DN) on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above(DO)
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,(DP)
29 when he gave the sea its boundary(DQ)
so the waters would not overstep his command,(DR)
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.(DS)
30 Then I was constantly[i] at his side.(DT)
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.(DU)
32 “Now then, my children, listen(DV) to me;
blessed are(DW) those who keep my ways.(DX)
33 Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not disregard it.
34 Blessed are those who listen(DY) to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.
35 For those who find me(DZ) find life(EA)
and receive favor from the Lord.(EB)
36 But those who fail to find me harm themselves;(EC)
all who hate me love death.”(ED)
Invitations of Wisdom and Folly
9 Wisdom has built(EE) her house;
she has set up[j] its seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;(EF)
she has also set her table.(EG)
3 She has sent out her servants, and she calls(EH)
from the highest point of the city,(EI)
4 “Let all who are simple(EJ) come to my house!”
To those who have no sense(EK) she says,
5 “Come,(EL) eat my food
and drink the wine I have mixed.(EM)
6 Leave your simple ways and you will live;(EN)
walk in the way of insight.”(EO)
7 Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;
whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.(EP)
8 Do not rebuke mockers(EQ) or they will hate you;
rebuke the wise and they will love you.(ER)
9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.(ES)
10 The fear of the Lord(ET) is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One(EU) is understanding.(EV)
11 For through wisdom[k] your days will be many,
and years will be added to your life.(EW)
12 If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.
13 Folly is an unruly woman;(EX)
she is simple and knows nothing.(EY)
14 She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,(EZ)
15 calling out(FA) to those who pass by,
who go straight on their way,
16 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense(FB) she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
food eaten in secret is delicious!(FC)”
18 But little do they know that the dead are there,
that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.(FD)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:9 Or years
- Proverbs 6:3 Or Go and humble yourself,
- Proverbs 7:22 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew fool
- Proverbs 7:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
- Proverbs 8:5 Septuagint; Hebrew foolish, instruct your minds
- Proverbs 8:16 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; other Hebrew manuscripts all righteous rulers
- Proverbs 8:22 Or way; or dominion
- Proverbs 8:22 Or The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work; or The Lord brought me forth at the beginning of his work
- Proverbs 8:30 Or was the artisan; or was a little child
- Proverbs 9:1 Septuagint, Syriac and Targum; Hebrew has hewn out
- Proverbs 9:11 Septuagint, Syriac and Targum; Hebrew me
Proverbs 5-9
King James Version
Proverbs 5-9
King James Version
5 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
7 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:
9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
11 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;
13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14 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.
16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
19 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 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 pondereth all his goings.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
6 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
12 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
7 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
6 For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
9 In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
13 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
14 I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
20 He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
8 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
2 She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.
3 She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
5 O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.
6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.
7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
18 Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:
21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
22 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
32 Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.
36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
9 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
2 She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.
3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.
12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
13 A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
14 For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
15 To call passengers who go right on their ways:
16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
New International Version (NIV) 
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