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 Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Warning against Impurity and Infidelity
5 My child, be attentive to my wisdom;
incline your ear to my understanding,(A)
2 so that you may hold on to prudence,
and your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips of a loose woman[a] drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil,(B)
4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword.(C)
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.(D)
8 Keep your way far from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,(E)
9 lest you give your honor to others
and your years to the merciless,
10 and strangers take their fill of your wealth,
and your labors go to the house of an alien,
11 and at the end of your life you groan,
when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you say, “Oh, how I hated discipline,
and my heart despised reproof!(F)
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?(G)
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,(H)
19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
May her breasts satisfy you at all times;
may you be intoxicated always by her love.(I)
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, by another woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?[c](J)
21 For human ways are under the eyes of the Lord,
and he examines all their paths.(K)
22 The iniquities of the wicked ensnare them,
and they are caught in the coils of their sin.(L)
23 They die for lack of discipline,
and because of their great folly they are lost.(M)
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 Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
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 honour to others,
and your years to the merciless,
10 and strangers will take their fill of your wealth,
and your labours 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
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