Proverbs 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 5
Warning Against Adultery[a]
1 My son, to my wisdom be attentive,
to understanding incline your ear,
2 That you may act discreetly,
and your lips guard what you know.
3 Indeed, the lips of the stranger drip honey,[b]
and her mouth is smoother than oil;(A)
4 But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood,
as sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death,
her steps reach Sheol;(B)
6 Her paths ramble, you know not where,
lest you see before you the road to life.
7 So now, children, listen to me,
do not stray from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her,(C)
do not go near the door of her house,
9 Lest you give your honor[c] to others,(D)
and your years to a merciless one;
10 Lest outsiders take their fill of your wealth,
and your hard-won earnings go to another’s house;
11 And you groan in the end,
when your flesh and your body are consumed;
12 And you say, “Oh, why did I hate instruction,
and my heart spurn reproof!
13 Why did I not listen to the voice of my teachers,
incline my ear to my instructors!
14 I am all but ruined,
in the midst of the public assembly!”
15 Drink water[d] from your own cistern,
running water from your own well.
16 Should your water sources be dispersed abroad,
streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be yours alone,
not shared with outsiders;
18 Let your fountain be blessed and have joy of the wife of your youth,
19 your lovely hind, your graceful doe.[e]
Of whose love you will ever have your fill,
and by her ardor always be intoxicated.
20 Why then, my son, should you be intoxicated with a stranger,
and embrace another woman?
21 Indeed, the ways of each person are plain to the Lord’s sight;
all their paths he surveys;(E)
22 By their own iniquities the wicked will be caught,
in the meshes of their own sin they will be held fast;
23 They will die from lack of discipline,
lost because of their great folly.
Footnotes
- 5:1–23 This is the first of three poems on the forbidden woman, the “stranger” outside the social boundaries (cf. 2:16–19); the other two are 6:20–35 and chap. 7. Understanding and discretion are necessary to avoid adultery, which leads astray and begets bitterness, bloodshed, and death (vv. 1–6). It destroys honor, wastes the years of life, despoils hard-earned wealth, and brings remorse in the end (vv. 7–14). Conjugal fidelity and love bring happiness and security (vv. 15–20). Cf. 6:20–7:27. The structure of the poem consists of a two-line introduction; part one consists of three stanzas of four lines each warning of the forbidden woman’s effect on her lovers (vv. 3–14); part two consists of a stanza of twelve lines exhorting the disciple to marital fidelity (vv. 15–20); and a final stanza of six lines on the perils of the woman (vv. 21–23).
- 5:3 A metaphorical level is established in the opening description of the forbidden woman: her lips drip honey and her feet lead to death. By her lies, she leads people away from the wisdom that gives life.
- 5:9 Honor: the words “life” and “wealth” have also been read in this place. A merciless one: the offended husband; cf. 6:34–35.
- 5:15–16 Water: water may have an erotic meaning as in Sg 4:15, “[You are] a garden fountain, a well of living water.” Eating and drinking can be metaphors expressing the mutuality of love. The wife is the opposite of the adulterous woman; she is not an outsider, not unfeeling, not a destroyer of her husband’s self and goods. The best defense against adultery is appreciating and loving one’s spouse. The best defense against folly is to appreciate and love wisdom.
- 5:19 Lovely hind…graceful doe: ancient Near Eastern symbols of feminine beauty and charm; cf. Sg 2:7, 9, 17.
Proverbs 5
New King James Version
The Peril of Adultery
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
[a]Lend your ear to my understanding,
2 That you may [b]preserve discretion,
And your lips (A)may keep knowledge.
3 (B)For the lips of [c]an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is (C)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,
(D)Her steps lay hold of [d]hell.
6 Lest you ponder her path of life—
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know them.
7 Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,
9 Lest you give your [e]honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
10 Lest aliens be filled with your [f]wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;
11 And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,
12 And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!
13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!
14 I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.
16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
[g]Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with (E)the wife of your youth.
19 (F)As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be [h]enraptured with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by (G)an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?
21 (H)For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He [i]ponders all his paths.
22 (I)His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
23 (J)He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:1 Lit. Bow
- Proverbs 5:2 appreciate good judgment
- Proverbs 5:3 Lit. a strange
- Proverbs 5:5 Or Sheol
- Proverbs 5:9 vigor
- Proverbs 5:10 Lit. strength
- Proverbs 5:16 Channels
- Proverbs 5:19 Lit. intoxicated
- Proverbs 5:21 observes, lit. weighs
箴言 5
Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Traditional)
當遠淫婦
5 我兒，要留心我智慧的話語，側耳聽我聰明的言辭， 2 為要使你謹守謀略，嘴唇保存知識。 3 因為淫婦的嘴滴下蜂蜜，她的口比油更滑， 4 至終卻苦似茵陳，快如兩刃的刀。 5 她的腳下入死地，她腳步踏住陰間， 6 以致她找不著生命平坦的道。她的路變遷不定，自己還不知道。
7 眾子啊，現在要聽從我，不可離棄我口中的話。 8 你所行的道要離她遠，不可就近她的房門， 9 恐怕將你的尊榮給別人，將你的歲月給殘忍的人， 10 恐怕外人滿得你的力量，你勞碌得來的歸入外人的家。 11 終久你皮肉和身體消毀，你就悲嘆， 12 說：「我怎麼恨惡訓誨，心中藐視責備， 13 也不聽從我師傅的話，又不側耳聽那教訓我的人！ 14 我在聖會裡幾乎落在諸般惡中！」
15 你要喝自己池中的水，飲自己井裡的活水。 16 你的泉源豈可漲溢在外？你的河水豈可流在街上？ 17 唯獨歸你一人，不可與外人同用。 18 要使你的泉源蒙福，要喜悅你幼年所娶的妻， 19 她如可愛的麀鹿，可喜的母鹿。願她的胸懷使你時時知足，她的愛情使你常常戀慕。 20 我兒，你為何戀慕淫婦，為何抱外女的胸懷？ 21 因為人所行的道都在耶和華眼前，他也修平人一切的路。 22 惡人必被自己的罪孽捉住，他必被自己的罪惡如繩索纏繞。 23 他因不受訓誨，就必死亡，又因愚昧過甚，必走差了路。
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