Proverbs 5:1–6:35
5 My son,k pay attention to my wisdom,
turn your ear to my wordsl 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;m
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,n
sharp as a double-edged sword.
her steps lead straight to the grave.o
6 She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.p
7 Now then, my sons, listenq to me;
do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her,r
do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you lose your honor to others
and your dignitya to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich the house of another.s
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!t
13 I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious troubleu
in the assembly of God’s people.”v
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?
never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountainw be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.x
19 A loving doe, a graceful deery—
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 viewz of the Lord,
and he examinesa all your paths.b
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;c
the cords of their sins hold them fast.d
23 For lack of discipline they will die,e
led astray by their own great folly.f
6 My son,g if you have put up securityh for your neighbor,i
if you have shaken hands in pledgej 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—a
and give your neighbor no rest!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.k
5 Free yourself, like a gazellel from the hand of the hunter,m
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.n
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;o
consider its ways and be wise!
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summerp
and gathers its food at harvest.q
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?r
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rests—
11 and povertyt 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,u
signals with his feet
and motions with his fingers,v
14 who plots evilw with deceit in his heart—
he always stirs up conflict.x
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;y
he will suddenlyz be destroyed—without remedy.a
16 There are six things the Lord hates,b
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,c
a lying tongue,d
hands that shed innocent blood,e
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,f
19 a false witnessg who pours out liesh
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.i
20 My son,j keep your father’s command
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.k
21 Bind them always on your heart;
fasten them around your neck.l
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,m
and correction and instruction
are the way to life,n
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.o
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.p
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 sleepsq with another man’s wife;r
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,s
though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adulteryt has no sense;u
whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
and his shame will neverv be wiped away.
34 For jealousyw arouses a husband’s fury,x
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.y