Proverbs 5:1-14 ▼

1 My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding;

2 That you may observe discretion, And your lips may reserve knowledge.

3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, And smoother than oil is her speech;

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

5 Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of Sheol.

6 She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

7 Now then, my sons, listen to me, And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

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

9 Lest you give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

10 Lest strangers be filled with your strength, And your hard-earned goods go to the house of an alien;

11 And you groan at your latter end, When your flesh and your body are consumed;

12 And you say, “How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof!

13 “And I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!

14 “I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”