Proverbs 5:8-10

5:8 Keep yourself ¹  far ²  from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

5:9 lest you give your vigor ³  to others

and your years to a cruel person,

5:10 lest strangers devour ⁴  your strength, ⁵ 

and your labor ⁶  benefit ⁷  another man’s house.

[5:8]  ¹ tn Heb “your way.”

[5:8]  ² sn There is a contrast made between “keep far away” (הַרְחֵק, harkheq) and “do not draw near” (וְאַל־תִּקְרַב, vÿ’al-tiqrav).

[5:9]  ³ sn The term הוֹד (hod, “vigor; splendor; majesty”) in this context means the best time of one’s life (cf. NIV “your best strength”), the full manly vigor that will be wasted with licentiousness. Here it is paralleled by “years,” which refers to the best years of that vigor, the prime of life. Life would be ruined by living this way, or the revenge of the woman’s husband would cut it short.

[5:10]  ⁴ tn Or “are sated, satisfied.”

[5:10]  ⁵ tn The word כֹּחַ (coakh, “strength”) refers to what laborious toil would produce (so a metonymy of cause). Everything that this person worked for could become the property for others to enjoy.

[5:10]  ⁶ tn “labor, painful toil.”

[5:10]  ⁷ tn The term “benefit” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.