Proverbs 5

1My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding: 2that your lips may preserve knowledge. that you may maintain discretion, 3Her mouth is smoother than oil, For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. 4and as sharp as a two-edged sword. But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, 5* Her feet go down to death. 6Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it. She gives no thought to the way of life. 7Don’t depart from the words of my mouth. Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. 8Don’t come near the door of her house, Remove your way far from her. 9and your years to the cruel one; lest you give your honor to others, 10and your labors enrich another man’s house. lest strangers feast on your wealth, 11when your flesh and your body are consumed, You will groan at your latter end, 12and my heart despised reproof; and say, “How I have hated instruction, 13nor turned my ear to those who instructed me! neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, 14among the gathered assembly.” I have come to the brink of utter ruin, 15running water out of your own well. Drink water out of your own cistern, 16streams of water in the public squares? Should your springs overflow in the streets, 17not for strangers with you. Let them be for yourself alone, 18Rejoice in the wife of your youth. Let your spring be blessed. 19let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love. A loving doe and a graceful deer— 20Why embrace the bosom of another? For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? 21He examines all his paths. For the ways of man are before Yahweh’s eyes. 22The cords of his sin hold him firmly. The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. 23In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray. He will die for lack of instruction.