Proverbs 5:1-14

Admonition to Avoid Seduction to Evil

5:1 My child, be attentive to my wisdom,

pay close attention to my understanding,

5:2 in order to safeguard discretion,

and that your lips may guard knowledge.

5:3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,

and her seductive words are smoother than olive 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 lead straight to the grave.

5:6 Lest she should make level the path leading to life,

her paths are unstable but she does not know it.

5:7 So now, children, listen to me;

do not turn aside from the words I speak.

5:8 Keep yourself far from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

5:9 lest you give your vigor to others

and your years to a cruel person,

5:10 lest strangers devour your strength,

and your labor benefit another man’s house.

5:11 And at the end of your life you will groan

when your flesh and your body are wasted away.

5:12 And you will say, “How I hated discipline!

My heart spurned reproof!

5:13 For I did not obey my teachers

and I did not heed my instructors.

5:14 I almost came to complete ruin

in the midst of the whole congregation!”