Proverbs 5-8
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.
Parental Counsel
6 My son, if you have become a (AF)guarantor for your neighbor,
Or have given a handshake for a stranger,
2 If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth,
Or caught by the words of your mouth,
3 Then do this, my son, and save yourself:
Since you have come into the [i]hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and be urgent with your neighbor to free yourself.
4 Give no (AG)sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
5 Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand,
And like a (AH)bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the (AI)ant, you [j](AJ)lazy one,
Observe its ways and be wise,
7 Which, having (AK)no chief,
Officer, or ruler,
8 Prepares its food (AL)in the summer
And gathers its provision in the harvest.
9 How long will you lie down, you [k]lazy one?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 “(AM)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to [l]rest,”
11 (AN)Then your poverty will come in like a [m]drifter,
And your need like [n]an armed man.
12 A (AO)worthless person, a wicked man,
Is one who walks with a (AP)perverse mouth,
13 Who (AQ)winks with his eyes, who [o]signals with his feet,
Who [p]points with his fingers;
14 Who, with (AR)perversion in his heart, continually (AS)devises evil,
Who [q](AT)spreads strife.
15 Therefore (AU)his disaster will come suddenly;
(AV)Instantly he will be broken and there will be (AW)no healing.
16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
Seven that are an abomination [r]to Him:
17 (AX)Haughty eyes, a (AY)lying tongue,
And hands that (AZ)shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises (BA)wicked plans,
(BB)Feet that run rapidly to evil,
19 A (BC)false witness who declares lies,
And one who [s](BD)spreads strife among brothers.
20 (BE)My son, comply with the commandment of your father,
And do not ignore the [t]teaching of your mother;
21 (BF)Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you (BG)walk, [u]they will guide you;
When you sleep, [v]they will watch over you;
And when you awake, [w]they will talk to you.
23 For (BH)the commandment is a lamp and the [x]teaching is light;
And rebukes for discipline are the way of life
24 To (BI)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.
25 (BJ)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her (BK)eyelids.
26 For (BL)the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread,
And [y]an adulteress (BM)hunts for a precious life.
27 Can anyone take fire in his lap
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can a person walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
29 So is the one who (BN)goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her (BO)will not [z]go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
To (BP)satisfy [aa]himself when he is hungry;
31 But when he is found, he must (BQ)repay seven times as much;
He must give up all the property of his house.
32 One who commits adultery with a woman is (BR)lacking [ab]sense;
He who would (BS)destroy [ac]himself commits it.
33 He will find wounds and disgrace,
And his shame will not be removed.
34 For (BT)jealousy [ad]enrages a man,
And he will not have compassion on the (BU)day of vengeance.
35 He will not [ae]accept any settlement,
Nor will he be [af]satisfied though you make it a large gift.
The Lures of the Prostitute
7 My son, (BV)keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
2 (BW)Keep my commandments and live,
And my [ag]teaching (BX)as the [ah]apple of your eye.
3 (BY)Bind them on your fingers;
(BZ)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend,
5 So that they may keep you from an [ai]adulteress,
From the foreigner who flatters with her words.
6 For (CA)at the window of my house
I looked out (CB)through my lattice,
7 And I saw among the (CC)naive,
And discerned among the [aj]youths
A young man (CD)lacking [ak]sense,
8 Passing through the street near (CE)her corner;
And he walks along the way to (CF)her house,
9 In the (CG)twilight, in the [al]evening,
In the [am]middle of the night and the darkness.
10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
(CH)Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart.
11 She is (CI)boisterous and rebellious,
Her (CJ)feet do not remain at home;
12 She is now in the streets, now (CK)in the public squares,
And (CL)lurks by every corner.
13 So she seizes him and kisses him,
[an]And with a (CM)brazen face she says to him:
14 “[ao]I was due to offer (CN)peace offerings;
Today I have (CO)paid my vows.
15 Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with (CP)coverings,
With colored (CQ)linens of Egypt.
17 I have sprinkled my bed
With (CR)myrrh, aloes, and (CS)cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning;
Let’s delight ourselves with caresses.
19 For [ap]my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey.
20 He has taken a (CT)bag of money [aq]with him.
At the full moon he will come home.”
21 With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her [ar](CU)flattering lips she seduces him.
22 Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as [as]one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool,
23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a (CV)bird hurries to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24 Now therefore, my sons, (CW)listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart (CX)turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.
26 For many are the [at]victims she has brought to ruin,
And (CY)numerous are all those slaughtered by her.
27 Her (CZ)house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.
The Commendation of Wisdom
8 Does not (DA)wisdom call,
And understanding [au]raise her voice?
2 On top of (DB)the heights beside the way,
Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3 Beside the (DC)gates, at the opening to the city,
At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:
4 “To you, people, I call,
And my voice is to [av]mankind.
5 You (DD)naive ones, understand prudence;
And, you (DE)fools, understand [aw]wisdom!
6 Listen, for I will speak (DF)noble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal (DG)right things.
7 For my (DH)mouth will proclaim truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing (DI)crooked or perverted in them.
9 They are all (DJ)straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who (DK)find knowledge.
10 Accept my (DL)instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 For wisdom is (DM)better than [ax]jewels;
And (DN)all desirable things cannot compare with her.
12 “I, wisdom, (DO)dwell with prudence,
And I find (DP)knowledge and discretion.
13 The (DQ)fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
(DR)Pride, arrogance, (DS)the evil way,
And the (DT)perverted mouth, I hate.
14 (DU)Advice is mine and (DV)sound wisdom;
I am understanding, (DW)power is mine.
15 By me (DX)kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
17 I (DY)love those who love me;
And (DZ)those who diligently seek me will find me.
18 (EA)Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring (EB)wealth and righteousness.
19 My fruit is (EC)better than gold, even pure gold;
And my yield better than (ED)choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may (EE)fill their treasuries.
22 “The Lord [ay]created me (EF)at the beginning of His way,
Before His works [az]of old.
23 From eternity I was [ba](EG)established,
From the beginning, (EH)from the earliest times of the earth.
24 When there were no (EI)ocean depths, I was born,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
25 (EJ)Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was born;
26 While He had not yet made the earth and the [bb]fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
27 When He (EK)established the heavens, I was there;
When (EL)He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became [bc]fixed,
29 When (EM)He set a boundary for the sea
So that the water would not violate His [bd]command,
When He marked out (EN)the foundations of the earth;
30 Then (EO)I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was His delight daily,
[be]Rejoicing always before Him,
31 [bf]Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having (EP)my delight in the sons of mankind.
32 “Now then, sons, (EQ)listen to me,
For (ER)blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 (ES)Listen to instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
34 (ET)Blessed is the person who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.
35 For (EU)one who finds me finds life,
And (EV)obtains favor from the Lord.
36 But one who [bg]sins against me (EW)injures himself;
All those who (EX)hate me (EY)love death.”
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 6:3 Lit palm
- Proverbs 6:6 Lit idle one
- Proverbs 6:9 Lit idle one
- Proverbs 6:10 Lit lie down
- Proverbs 6:11 Lit one who moves about
- Proverbs 6:11 Lit a man with a shield
- Proverbs 6:13 Lit scrapes
- Proverbs 6:13 Lit instructs with
- Proverbs 6:14 Lit sends out
- Proverbs 6:16 Lit of His soul
- Proverbs 6:19 Lit sends out
- Proverbs 6:20 Or law
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
- Proverbs 6:23 Or law
- Proverbs 6:26 Lit a man’s wife
- Proverbs 6:29 Lit be innocent
- Proverbs 6:30 Lit his soul
- Proverbs 6:32 Lit heart
- Proverbs 6:32 Lit his soul
- Proverbs 6:34 Lit is the rage of
- Proverbs 6:35 Lit lift up the face of any
- Proverbs 6:35 Lit willing
- Proverbs 7:2 Or law
- Proverbs 7:2 Lit pupil
- Proverbs 7:5 Lit strange woman
- Proverbs 7:7 Lit sons
- Proverbs 7:7 Lit heart
- Proverbs 7:9 Lit evening of the day
- Proverbs 7:9 Lit pupil (of the eye)
- Proverbs 7:13 Lit She makes bold her face and says
- Proverbs 7:14 Lit Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me
- Proverbs 7:19 Lit the man
- Proverbs 7:20 Lit in his hand
- Proverbs 7:21 Lit smooth
- Proverbs 7:22 Or as a stag goes into a trap; as in some ancient versions, Heb is uncertain
- Proverbs 7:26 Lit wounded
- Proverbs 8:1 Lit give
- Proverbs 8:4 Lit sons of mankind
- Proverbs 8:5 Lit heart
- Proverbs 8:11 Lit corals
- Proverbs 8:22 Or possessed
- Proverbs 8:22 Lit from then
- Proverbs 8:23 Or consecrated
- Proverbs 8:26 Lit outside places
- Proverbs 8:28 Lit strong
- Proverbs 8:29 Lit mouth
- Proverbs 8:30 Or Playing
- Proverbs 8:31 Or Playing
- Proverbs 8:36 Or misses me
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