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Proverbs 5

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

that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.

For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,

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

Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;

she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.

And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

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

lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,

lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,

and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,

and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!

I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.

I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”

Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.

Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets?

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

Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth,

a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.

Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?

For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths.

The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.

Scripture quotations marked “ESV” are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Proverbs 5

Chapter 5 shifts from general wisdom to a specific and urgent danger: the seduction of the adulteress and the grave consequences of sexual unfaithfulness and covenant-breaking. The father addresses his son with passionate intensity, begging him to listen carefully, warning that the strange woman's lips drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, yet her end is bitter as wormwood and sharp as a double-edged sword, creating a stark contrast between enticing appearance and devastating reality. The theological framework is thoroughly covenantal: the adulteress is not merely a poor romantic choice but a betrayer of covenant vows, her house leads to death and her paths to Sheol, and sexual faithfulness is framed as obedience to God's created order and protective design for human flourishing. The chapter's turning point shifts from warning to exhortation: the son should instead drink from his own cistern, enjoy the fountain of his own wife, and find satisfaction in her love, presenting marital fidelity not as reluctant duty but as joyful devotion and pleasure, thereby sanctifying eros within covenant bounds. The passage anticipates Jesus's teaching on adultery and John's language of abiding in Christ, offering a vision of wisdom that encompasses not just intellectual and moral life but also the body and intimate relationships as spheres where God's order and blessing operate. As the first of the temptress passages, chapter 5 establishes that covenant-breaking—whether against God or spouse—is not a minor lapse but a fundamental rejection of Wisdom's way.

Proverbs 5:22

The wayward woman's victim becomes ensnared by his own iniquities, caught in the cords of his sin—a striking image of how transgression becomes self-perpetuating and inescapable. This verse illustrates the wisdom tradition's understanding of justice as built into creation's moral order: sin generates its own consequences through divine ordering of reality rather than through arbitrary punishment. The binding power of one's own wrongdoing reflects the covenant framework where breach of obligation produces natural alienation from blessing. This teaching invokes both the fear of the LORD and recognition that folly contains within itself the seeds of its own judgment.

Proverbs 5:23

The fool dies for lack of discipline, wandering astray through his own great folly, a culminating image of wisdom's most severe warning. This verse stands as the epitome of the antithesis between the disciplined sage and the undisciplined fool, where death itself becomes the endpoint of sustained rebellion against wisdom's order. The reference to being led astray by folly personifies the seductive power of transgression, which diminishes the capacity for self-correction and moral perception. This conclusion to the extended warning against adultery underscores that covenant fidelity and sexual discipline are not arbitrary rules but expressions of the created order that sustains life itself.

Proverbs 5:3

The danger described: 'For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, hard as flint.' The adulteress is characterized by her seductive speech: her lips 'drip honey' (tittof nopheth) and her words are 'smooth as oil' (chalakot mi'shemen). These metaphors evoke sweetness and ease, appealing to sensory pleasure. But this surface appeal masks a bitter reality: 'in the end she is bitter as gall' (v'acharita marah kazoh), 'hard as flint' (qasha ke'even challamit). The progression from sweetness to bitterness illustrates the deceptive nature of this temptation. Initial pleasure masks inevitable pain. The young person must learn to see through the surface allure to the destruction that follows.

Proverbs 5:4

The progression of harm: 'Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.' The image shifts from taste (honey, gall) to movement. The adulteress's 'feet go down to death' (yeredo ragelyha el mavet), 'steps lead straight to the grave' (yishmareh She'ol). Those who follow her trajectory will end in death. The metaphor is not merely physical death but the spiritual death that results from severing covenant relationships. The young man who commits adultery enters into a death-trajectory, losing his way to life with God and authentic community.

Proverbs 5:5

Her paths: 'She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she knows it not.' The adulteress 'gives no thought to the way of life' (lo pan'at orach chayim), her paths 'wander aimlessly' (natiu orchoteyha). Worse, 'she knows it not' (v'lo yada'at)—she is blind to her own destruction. She has lost the capacity to see reality. This suggests that those enslaved by sexual appetite have their perception warped; they cannot see clearly where their path leads. The young man is warned: this is the condition of those who yield to such temptation.

Proverbs 5:6

Therefore: 'Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.' The father returns to direct address after the characterization of the adulteress. 'Listen to me' (shema' li) and 'do not turn aside from what I say' emphasize the urgency. The plural 'my sons' indicates that while addressing his own son, this warning is meant for all young men. The transition from describing the adulteress to direct exhortation indicates that the warning is not mere information but a call to decision and action.

Proverbs 5:7

The specific warning: 'Therefore hear me, my sons, and do not ignore the words of my mouth. Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house.' 'Do not ignore' (lo tasureh) and 'keep to a path far from her' (rechok mishukhah orchacha) counsel complete avoidance. This is not a strategy of moderate engagement or testing one's ability to resist at the boundary. Rather, the wise person avoids situations of temptation entirely. 'Do not go near the door of her house' (al tiqrev el pesach beyita) indicates that one should not position oneself where temptation is near. Prevention through avoidance is better than relying on resistance at the moment of temptation.

Proverbs 5:8

The danger of proximity: 'lest you lose your honor to others and your years to one who is cruel.' 'Lose your honor' (pen tattenkavodcha le'acherim) suggests that the affair will become public, resulting in shame and loss of reputation. 'Your years to one who is cruel' (shneycha le'okesha) indicates both the loss of life years through disease or early death, and the destructive relationship with the woman 'cruel' (hard-hearted). The young man learns that sexual sin has public consequences: his honor and reputation are at stake, not just private consequences.

Proverbs 5:9

Loss of resources: 'Lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man's house.' 'Strangers' and another man's house' indicate that the fruits of the young man's labor will be consumed not by his own family but by others. The economic consequence of adultery is real: resources and strength are wasted on the affair rather than building one's own household. In the ancient world, a man's wealth was understood as something to be preserved for his own family and household. To squander it on an adulteress is betrayal of familial duty. The verse appeals to the young man's interest in economic security and building a household.

Proverbs 5:10

Deep regret: 'At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!"' The vision extends to the end of the young man's life. At that point, 'your flesh and body are spent' (kol besarka u'meteycha) indicates that the indulgence has taken a physical toll. 'How I hated discipline!' (ki sameti musar) and 'my heart spurned correction' (v'tabati tokechah li'bi) reveal the root: the person who yielded to sexual temptation was one who rejected wisdom's correction. The regret is profound and lifelong. The father is preparing his son to imagine the future regret that will follow if he chooses the path of sexual sin.

Proverbs 5:11

The isolation of shame: 'and I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers or inclined my ear to my instructors.' The deathbed reflection continues: the person recognizes that he did not heed the warnings of those who sought to guide him. 'Have not obeyed the voice of my teachers' (lo shamati bekol more'ai) and 'not inclined my ear to my instructors' (ve'le'morshay lo hatibot ozi) indicate persistent rejection of correction. The warnings were given; the person refused to hear. This reflection is meant to motivate the young person to listen now, while he still has the chance to choose a different path.

Proverbs 5:1

The fifth discourse opens with a call to attentive listening: 'My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight.' 'Pay attention' (qashab) and 'listen well' (hatahat le' vinati) emphasize concentrated hearing. The discourse that follows will address a specific danger: seduction by the adulteress. The father positions this teaching as crucial wisdom requiring the son's most careful attention. The intensity of the opening suggests that what follows is not a peripheral concern but central to the young man's moral struggle. Many young men are destroyed through illicit sexual involvement; the father is preparing his son to recognize and resist this particular temptation.

Proverbs 5:13

Drink from your own cistern: 'Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.' The metaphor shifts to water, a symbol of life and satisfaction. One should derive satisfaction from one's own resources—here, understood as one's own wife and household. 'Your own cistern' (behorcha) and 'your own well' (beorcha) suggest intimate, exclusive belonging. The married man should find his sexual and emotional satisfaction within his marriage covenant, not seeking it outside. The metaphor of drinking suggests satisfying thirst; the warning implies that the young man will have genuine desires for sexual satisfaction; the issue is where those desires are appropriately met.

Proverbs 5:14

Not sharing with strangers: 'Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?' The metaphor reverses: water that should be contained within one's own cistern is instead 'flowing in the streets' (yizzu bahuzot), 'in the public squares' (birehov'im). The sexual life that should be private and exclusive becomes public and indiscriminate. 'Springs overflow' suggests the waste and loss of what should be precious. The young man is being asked to imagine the public loss of what should be kept private and exclusive. The rhetorical question expects the answer: no, such overflow is shameful loss.

Proverbs 5:15

Fidelity to your wife: 'Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.' 'Yours alone' (lecha levad'cha) emphasizes exclusivity. 'Never to be shared with strangers' (v'al ta'tu zarem) indicates that the marriage bed is not to be defiled by infidelity. The waters of marital intimacy belong exclusively to husband and wife. This reflects the covenantal understanding of marriage: the marriage covenant creates a unique, exclusive bond that should not be violated. Fidelity is not a burden but a protection of what is most precious.

Proverbs 5:16

The joy of marriage: 'May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.' 'Your fountain be blessed' (yehu mequrecha) and 'rejoice in the wife of your youth' (v'simach im'shet ne'urechah) position marriage and sexuality as sources of joy and blessing. The young man is not called to grim asceticism but to the deep joy of faithful marriage. 'The wife of your youth' recalls the covenant commitment made early, suggesting that the wife who walked with the young man through his formative years deserves his continued devotion and joy.

Proverbs 5:17

Her value: 'She is a loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.' The metaphor of the doe suggests beauty, grace, and gentleness. 'May her breasts satisfy you always' addresses sexual satisfaction and intimacy within marriage. 'May you ever be intoxicated with her love' (v'heskah tamid be'ahavta) suggests that passionate love within marriage is the appropriate object of desire and attention. The language is passionate and affirming: sexuality within marriage is not begrudged but celebrated. The contrast is with the false satisfaction offered by the adulteress; true satisfaction is found in covenant faithfulness.

Proverbs 5:18

Why entertain the other?: 'Why, my son, be captivated by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife?' The direct questions return to the moment of temptation. The rhetorical form ('why would you do this?') is meant to awaken the young man to the absurdity of his temptation. He has a wife who offers legitimate joy and satisfaction; why would he risk everything for illicit involvement? The questions are not meant as judgment but as wake-up calls designed to help the young man see clearly in the moment when desire clouds judgment.

Proverbs 5:19

The watching eye: 'For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.' The theological foundation for the entire discourse appears now: God sees everything. 'In full view of the LORD' (b'enei YHWH) indicates divine omniscience. 'Examines all his paths' (v'kol orach otah yafin) suggests divine scrutiny. The young man cannot hide; God sees his thoughts, desires, and actions. This is not meant as mere intimidation but as perspective: the young man's choices matter not just socially or to himself but in relation to God. The awareness that one is always in God's sight should reshape desire and choice.

Proverbs 5:20

The snare of sin: 'The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast.' 'Ensnare' (qasru) and 'hold them fast' (tamku) indicate that sin becomes a trap. The person who engages in sexual sin finds himself bound, unable to escape. What began as a choice becomes compulsion; the person becomes enslaved to appetite. 'The cords of their sins' suggests that sin tightens around the person, restricting movement and freedom. The metaphor illustrates the spiritual reality: what the sinner thought was freedom becomes slavery.

Proverbs 5:21

Lack of discipline: 'For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.' 'Lack of discipline' (me'even musar) is the root cause. Without discipline—the corrective instruction that shapes character—a person is vulnerable to folly. 'Led astray by their own great folly' (v'beshlut ishluto yanut) indicates that the person wanders into destruction through his own foolishness. No one is forced into sexual sin; the person chooses it, step by step. But he chooses it through folly—the failure to exercise judgment and restraint. The consequence of this folly is death.

Proverbs 5:12

The nadir of regret: 'I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of all the congregation.' 'Utter ruin' (kol ra'a) and 'in the midst of all the congregation' indicates that the ruin is not private but public, witnessed by the community. The person has lost everything—reputation, health, resources—in public view. This is not a hidden sin with private consequences but a spectacular failure that becomes a cautionary tale. The phrase 'in the midst of the congregation' (b'qerev kehallat) suggests the young person has become a living lesson of what happens when one rejects wisdom.

Proverbs 5:2

The purpose: 'that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.' 'Maintain discretion' (natsar ta'am) means to keep careful judgment about what is right and fitting. 'Your lips may preserve knowledge' suggests that wise speech, speaking truth about the dangers of sexual sin, becomes a way of preserving knowledge within the community. The young man who heeds this teaching will not only protect himself but become a voice of wisdom to others. The warning against adultery is not merely private moralism but communal wisdom that must be passed on.