Proverbs 5:1-14 ▼

1 My son, to my wisdom be attentive, to understanding incline your ear,

2 That you may act discreetly, and your lips guard what you know.

3 Indeed, the lips of the stranger drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil;

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

5 Her feet go down to death, her steps reach Sheol;

6 Her paths ramble, you know not where, lest you see before you the road to life.

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

8 Keep your way far from her, do not go near the door of her house,

9 Lest you give your honor to others, and your years to a merciless one;

10 Lest outsiders take their fill of your wealth, and your hard-won earnings go to another’s house;

11 And you groan in the end, when your flesh and your body are consumed;

12 And you say, “Oh, why did I hate instruction, and my heart spurn reproof!

13 Why did I not listen to the voice of my teachers, incline my ear to my instructors!

14 I am all but ruined, in the midst of the public assembly!”