Proverbs 5

1My son, pay attention to my wisdom, and turn your ear to my understanding,

2So that you may keep good judgment, and your lips may guard knowledge.

3Because the lips of another man's wife drip sweetness like honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil,

4But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, as sharp as a two-edged sword.

5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.

6She does not think about the path of life. Her ways wander, and she does not even know it.

7So now, my children, listen to me, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

8Keep your path far away from her, and do not go near the door of her house,

9So that you do not give your honor to others, or your years to someone cruel,

10So that strangers do not grow rich from your wealth, and what you worked for does not end up in a stranger's house,

11And at the end of your life you groan, when your body and flesh are worn out,

12And you say: How I hated instruction! How my heart looked down on correction!

13I did not listen to my teachers or turn my ear to those who instructed me.

14I was soon in complete ruin in front of the whole community.

15Drink water from your own well, running water from your own spring.

16Should your springs flow out into the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?

17Let them belong to you alone, and not to strangers along with you.

18Let your fountain be blessed, and find joy in the wife of your youth,

19A loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her love satisfy you always; be captivated always by her love.

20Why, my son, would you be captivated by another man's wife, and embrace a woman who is not your own?

21Because a person's ways are in full view of the LORD, and the LORD examines all their paths.

22The sins of a wicked person will be a trap; the wicked person will be held fast by the ropes of their own sin.

23The wicked person will die for lack of discipline, and be led astray by their own great foolishness.