Chapter 5
1 My son , pay attention to my wisdom . Turn your ear to my understanding ,
2 that you may maintain discretion , that your lips may preserve knowledge .
3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey . Her mouth is smoother than oil ,
4 but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood , and as sharp as a two-edged sword .
5 Her feet go down to death . Her steps lead straight to Sheol .
6 She gives no thought to the way of life . Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it .
7 Now therefore , my sons , listen to me . Don’t depart from the words of my mouth .
8 Remove your way far from her . Don’t come near the door of her house ,
9 lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one ;
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth , and your labors enrich another man ’s house .
11 You will groan at your latter end , when your flesh and your body are consumed ,
12 and say, "How I have hated instruction , and my heart despised reproof .
13 I haven’t obeyed the voice of my teachers , nor turned my ear to those who instructed me !
14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin , among the gathered assembly ."
15 Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets , streams of water in the public squares ?
17 Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you .
18 Let your spring be blessed . Rejoice in the wife of your youth .
19 A loving doe and a graceful deer — let her breasts satisfy you at all times . Be captivated always with her love.
20 For why should you , my son , be captivated with an adulteress ? Why embrace the bosom of another ?
21 For the ways of man are before Yahweh ’s eyes . He examines all his paths .
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
23 He will die for lack of instruction . In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray .