5:1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight,
5:2 that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
5:3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;
5:4 but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
5:6 She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not.
5:7 Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.
5:8 Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,
5:9 lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel,
5:10 lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man’s house.
5:11 At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.
5:12 You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!
5:13 I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors.
5:14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.”
5:15 Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.
5:16 Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
5:17 Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
5:18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
5:19 A loving doe, a graceful deer–may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.
5:20 Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man’s wife?
5:21 For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.
5:22 The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.
5:23 He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
5:1 My son, be attentive to my wisdom; / Incline your ear to my understanding,
5:2 That you may keep discretion, / And your lips may guard knowledge.
5:3 For the lips of a strange woman drip honey, / And her mouth is smoother than oil;
5:4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, / Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5:5 Her feet go down to death; / Her steps hold fast to Sheol.
5:6 She does not make straight the path of life: / Her ways wander, and she does not know it.
5:7 And now, my sons, listen to me, / And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
5:8 Keep your way far from her, / And do not go near the door of her house;
5:9 Lest you give your honor to others, / And your years to the cruel;
5:10 Lest strangers be filled with your wealth, / And your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
5:11 And you mourn at your end, / When your flesh and your body are consumed,
5:12 And you say, How I have hated instruction, / And my heart has despised reproof!
5:13 And I have not listened to the voice of my teachers / Nor inclined my ear to my instructors;
5:14 I was almost into every evil / In the midst of the congregation and assembly.
5:15 Drink waters out of your own cistern, / And running water out of your own well.
5:16 Should your springs be shed forth, / Like streams of water in the streets?
5:17 Let them be yours alone, / And not for strangers with you.
5:18 Let your fountain be blessed, / And rejoice in the wife of your youth,
5:19 A lovely hind and a graceful doe. / Let her breasts satisfy you at all times. / May you be ravished with her love always.
5:20 For why should you be ravished, my son, with a strange woman / And embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
5:21 For the ways of a man are before the eyes of Jehovah, / And He ponders all his paths.
5:22 The wicked man is taken by his own iniquities, / And he is held fast by the cords of his own sin.
5:23 He will die for lack of instruction, / And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.