Proverbs 5

¹My son, to my wisdom be attentive,

to understanding incline your ear,

²That you may act discreetly,

and your lips guard what you know.

³Indeed, the lips of the stranger drip honey,[#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.]

and her mouth is smoother than oil;

⁴But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood,

as sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death,

her steps reach Sheol;

⁶Her paths ramble, you know not where,

lest you see before you the road to life.

⁷So now, children, listen to me,

do not stray from the words of my mouth.

⁸Keep your way far from her,[#Prv 7:25.]

do not go near the door of her house,

⁹Lest you give your honor to others,[#: the words “life” and “wealth” have also been read in this place. : the offended husband; cf. 6:34–35.; #Sir 9:6.]

and your years to a merciless one;

¹⁰Lest outsiders take their fill of your wealth,

and your hard-won earnings go to another’s house;

¹¹And you groan in the end,

when your flesh and your body are consumed;

¹²And you say, “Oh, why did I hate instruction,

and my heart spurn reproof!

¹³Why did I not listen to the voice of my teachers,

incline my ear to my instructors!

¹⁴I am all but ruined,

in the midst of the public assembly!”

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern,[#: 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.]

running water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your water sources be dispersed abroad,

streams of water in the streets?

¹⁷Let them be yours alone,

not shared with outsiders;

¹⁸Let your fountain be blessed and have joy of the wife of your youth,

¹⁹your lovely hind, your graceful doe.[#: ancient Near Eastern symbols of feminine beauty and charm; cf. Sg 2:7, 9, 17.]

Of whose love you will ever have your fill,

and by her ardor always be intoxicated.

²⁰Why then, my son, should you be intoxicated with a stranger,

and embrace another woman?

²¹Indeed, the ways of each person are plain to the Lord ’s sight;

all their paths he surveys;

²²By their own iniquities the wicked will be caught,

in the meshes of their own sin they will be held fast;

²³They will die from lack of discipline,

lost because of their great folly.