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Chapter 5
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Verse 1

My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:

Verse 2

that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.

Verse 3

For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,

Verse 4

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

Verse 5

Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.

Verse 6

She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn't know it.

Verse 7

Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don't depart from the words of my mouth.

Verse 8

Remove your way far from her. Don't come near the door of her house,

Verse 9

lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;

Verse 10

lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man's house.

Verse 11

You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,

Verse 12

and say, "How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

Verse 13

neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!

Verse 14

I have come to the brink of utter ruin, in the midst of the gathered assembly."

Verse 15

Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.

Verse 16

Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?

Verse 17

Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.

Verse 18

Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

Verse 19

A loving doe and a graceful deer-- let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.

Verse 20

For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?

Verse 21

For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh. He examines all his paths.

Verse 22

The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

Verse 23

He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.

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Chapter 5
Next: proverbs 6→