Proverbs chapter 5
English Standard Version
1 My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, 2that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. 3For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, 4but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 5Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; 6she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. 7And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, 9lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, 10lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, 11and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, 12and you say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! 13I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. 14 I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation." 15Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. 16Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. 18Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, 19a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. 20Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? 21For a man 's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths. 22The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. 23 He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.
New International Version
1My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, 2that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. 3For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; 4but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. 5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
6She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it. 7Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. 8Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, 9lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel, 10lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another. 11At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. 12You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! 13I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors.
14And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God’s people." 15Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. 16Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? 17Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. 18May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
20Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman? 21For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths. 22The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. 23For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.
New American Standard Bible
1My son, pay attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding, 2So that you may maintain discretion And your lips may comply with knowledge. 3For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, And her speech is smoother than oil; 4But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol. 6 She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it. 7Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not turn away from the words of my mouth. 8Keep your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house, 9Otherwise you will give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one; 10And strangers will be filled with your strength, And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner; 11And you will groan in the end, When your flesh and your body are consumed; 12And you say, 'How I hated instruction! And my heart disdainfully rejected rebuke! 13I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, Nor incline my ear to my instructors! 14I was almost in total ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation.' 15Drink water from your own cistern, And fresh water from your own well. 16Should your springs overflow into the street, Streams of water in the public squares? 17Let them be yours alone, And not for strangers with you. 18Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19 Like a loving doe and a graceful mountain goat, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love. 20For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress, And embrace the breasts of a foreigner? 21For the ways of everyone are before the eyes of the Lord, And He observes all his paths. 22His own wrongdoings will trap the wicked, And he will be held by the ropes of his sin. 23He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.
Christian Standard Bible
1My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen closely to my understanding 2so that you may maintain discretion and your lips safeguard knowledge. 3Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her words are smoother than oil, 4in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood and as sharp as a double-edged sword. 5Her feet go down to death; her steps head straight for Sheol.
6She doesn’t consider the path of life; she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable. 7So now, sons, listen to me, and don’t turn away from the words from my mouth. 8Keep your way far from her. Don’t go near the door of her house. 9Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others and your years to someone cruel; 10strangers will drain your resources, and your hard-earned pay will end up in a foreigner’s house. 11At the end of your life, you will lament when your physical body has been consumed, 12and you will say, "How I hated discipline, and how my heart despised correction. 13I didn’t obey my teachers or listen closely to my instructors. 14I am on the verge of complete ruin before the entire community." 15Drink water from your own cistern, water flowing from your own well. 16Should your springs flow in the streets, streams in the public squares? 17They should be for you alone and not for you to share with strangers. 18Let your fountain be blessed, and take pleasure in the wife of your youth. 19A loving deer, a graceful doe — let her breasts always satisfy you; be lost in her love forever. 20Why, my son, would you lose yourself with a forbidden woman or embrace a wayward woman? 21For a man’s ways are before the Lord’s eyes, and he considers all his paths. 22A wicked man’s iniquities will trap him; he will become tangled in the ropes of his own sin. 23He will die because there is no discipline, and be lost because of his great stupidity.
New Living Translation
1My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel. 2Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned. 3For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. 4But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword. 5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. 6For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it.
7So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say: 8Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house! 9If you do, you will lose your honor and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved. 10Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor. 11In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body. 12You will say, 'How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings! 13Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors? 14I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.'
15Drink water from your own well — share your love only with your wife. 16Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone? 17You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers.
King James Version
New King James Version
1My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding, 2That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge. 3 For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; 4But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell. 6Lest you ponder her path of life— Her ways are unstable; You do not know them. 7Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house, 9Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one; 10Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner; 11And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed, 12And say: “How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! 13I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! 14I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation.” 15Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. 16Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? 17Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. 18Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. 19 As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. 20For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He ponders all his paths. 22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin. 23 He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
What does Proverbs chapter 5 mean?
Advice in Proverbs often comes in the form of warnings. Those are especially aimed at what happens when a person gives in to sin in general: listing the risks associated with ignoring godly wisdom. This section of Proverbs focuses narrowly on the sin of adultery. While the language here evokes a woman tempting a married man, the principles are not meant to be applied to males alone. The concepts of sexual purity apply equally to both sexes and to all persons.This chapter begins with the typical plea for the reader or listener to pay close attention. This book uses the term wisdom to mean an ability to apply godly knowledge. Discretion is closely related to that idea. This implies someone who can discern between different things. We see the same idea in related English terms such as discrete, discriminate, and discernment. The advice given here is vital, and Solomon is eager to see it followed (Proverbs 5:1–2).
Earlier verses personified wisdom as a woman crying out in the streets (Proverbs 1:20–21). Here, in a contrasting mood, temptation to adultery is symbolized by the idea of a temptress. It's noteworthy that Solomon does not use physical descriptions here; the temptations are all verbal or emotional. That speaks to how this concept applies to both men and women, though history has demonstrated that men are more susceptible to sexual temptations. This "forbidden woman" promises something smooth and sweet, but the end results are sour and harmful (Proverbs 5:3–6).
A key aspect of avoiding sin is to avoid temptation. This is why Solomon strongly suggests staying far away from those who tempt us towards adultery. Avoiding situations where we're liable to be overcome is sound advice. As part of that warning, this passage also describes the consequences of adultery. Those include a loss of reputation, shortened life, possible legal trouble, and reduced prosperity. Worse, adultery leads to deep regret, looking back with sorrow on sinful choices. There is a reason why, even in a modern culture drenched in promiscuity, there is still a deep stigma against those labelled as marital "cheaters" (Proverbs 5:7–14).
Beyond the consequences of adultery are the joys of a faithful marriage. One of the great pleasures of monogamy is the ability to enjoy sexual intimacy without guilt, shame, or fear. Solomon compares this to drinking water from one's own well—a safe, legitimate, worthy source. The alternative would be seeking water in places like unguarded springs or puddles in the road. There is nothing an adulterous relationship can offer which God has not provided for, in a legitimate way, within a properly functioning marriage (Proverbs 5:15–20).
Summarizing this section is a reminder that God knows and sees all things. A common thread in adultery is secrecy, but that's not possible in the eyes of an omniscient Creator. Another common thread is regret over consequences. Once adultery has been committed, it cannot be undone. God can—and will—forgive those who seek Him. But that forgiveness does not change the past. The damage to relationships, reputations, and bodily health are real, and those who ignore godly advice are liable to find this out the hard way (Proverbs 5:21–23).
