Proverbs 5
1My son, pay attention to my wisdom. 2 Turn your ear to my understanding: 1
2that you may maintain discretion, 2 that your lips may preserve knowledge. 1
3For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. 2 Her mouth is smoother than oil, 1
4But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, 2 and as sharp as a two-edged sword. 1
5Her feet go down to death. 2 Her steps lead straight to Sheol ·Place of the dead·. 1
6She gives no thought to the way of life. 2 Her ways are crooked, and she does not know it. 1
7Now therefore, my sons, sh'ma ·hear obey· me. 2 Don’t depart from the words of my mouth. 1
8Remove your way far from her. 2 Don’t come near the door of her house, 1
9lest you give your honor to others, 2 and your years to the cruel one; 1
10lest strangers feast on your wealth, 2 and your labors enrich another man’s house. 1
11You will groan at your latter end, 2 when your flesh and your body are consumed, 1
12and say, “How I have hated instruction, 2 and my heart despised reproof; 1
13neither have I sh'ma ·heard obeyed· the voice of my teachers, 2 nor turned my ear to those who instructed me! 1
14I have come to the brink of utter ruin, 2 among the gathered assembly.” 1
15Drink water out of your own cistern, 2 running water out of your own well. 1
16Should your springs overflow in the streets, 2 streams of water in the public squares? 1
17Let them be for yourself alone, 2 not for strangers with you. 1
18Let your spring be blessed. 2 Rejoice in the wife of your youth. 1
19An ahab ·affectionately loving· doe and a chen ·graceful· deer— 2 let her breasts satisfy you at all times. 2 Be intoxicated always with her love. 1
20For why should you, my son, be led astray, intoxicated sin ·error· with an adulteress? 2 Why embrace the bosom of another? 1
21For the ways of man are before Adonai’s eyes. 2 He examines all his paths. 1
22The depravities (moral evils) of the wicked ensnare him. 2 The cords of his habitual sins ·missing the marks· hold him firmly. 1
23He will die for lack of instruction. 2 In the greatness of his folly, he will be led astray, intoxicated, unintentional sin ·error·.