Proverbs 5

1My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding:

1My son, pay attention to my wisdom and listen carefully to my understanding.

2That thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge.

2Then you will maintain good judgment, and your words will show that you have knowledge.

3For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil:

3The lips of an immoral woman may drip with sweetness like honey, and her mouth may seem smoother than olive oil.

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

4But in the end, she is as bitter as poison and as sharp as a double-edged sword.

5Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold on Sheol;

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

6So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, andshe knoweth it not.

6She does not think about the path of life; her ways wander aimlessly, and she does not even realize it.

7Now therefore, mysons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth.

7So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not ignore what I am telling you.

8Remove thy way far from her, And come not nigh the door of her house;

8Stay far away from her; do not even go near the door of her house.

9Lest thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;

9If you do, you will give your strength to others and lose the best years of your life to someone who is cruel.

10Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, And thy labors be in the house of an alien,

10Strangers will use up your wealth, and the money you worked hard for will end up in the house of a foreigner.

11And thou mourn at thy latter end, When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

11In the end, you will groan in pain when your physical body is wasted away.

12And say, How have I hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof;

12You will say, "How I hated being taught! My heart refused to be corrected!

13Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

13I did not obey my teachers or pay attention to those who instructed me.

14I was well-nigh in all evil In the midst of the assembly and congregation.

14I have come to the brink of complete ruin in the middle of the whole community."

15Drink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well.

15Drink water from your own well and fresh water from your own spring.

16Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets?

16Should your springs overflow into the streets, or your streams of water be shared in public places?

17Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.

17Let these things be for you alone, and never share them with strangers.

18Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.

18Let your own fountain be blessed, and find your joy in the wife you married when you were young.

19Asa loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love.

19Let her be like a loving deer or a graceful doe; let her physical love satisfy you at all times, and always be captivated by her affection.

20For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

20Why, my son, would you be captivated by an immoral woman or embrace a stranger?

21For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah; And he maketh level all his paths.

21The Lord sees everything a person does, and he watches all their paths.

22His own iniquities shall take the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.

22The sins of a wicked person will trap them; they will be caught in the ropes of their own wrongdoing.

23He shall die for lack of instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

23That person will die for lack of self-control; they will be led astray by their own great foolishness.