Proverbs 5

1My son, give heed to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding.

2that you guard discretion, and your lips preserve knowledge.

3For a wayward woman's lips drip honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil.

4But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

5Her feet descend to death; her steps grasp Sheol.

6She does not ponder life's path; her paths wander, and you do not know them.

7Now then, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth.

8Keep your path far from her, and do not approach the entrance of her house.

9lest you give your glory to others, and your years to the ruthless one

10lest strangers be filled with your wealth, and your labors be in a foreigner's house.

11You will moan at your end when your flesh and body are consumed.

12and say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised rebuke!”

13I neither listened to the voice of my teachers nor turned my ear to my instructors.

14I nearly came to utter ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation.

15Drink water from your cistern, and flowing water from within your well.

16Should your springs scatter abroad in the streets, streams of water in the plazas?

17Let them be yours alone, and not for strangers with you.

18May your fountain be blessed, and be glad with the wife from your youth.

19A loving doe, a graceful roe—her breasts satisfy you at all times; be continually enraptured by her love.

20Why, my son, should you go astray with a stranger and embrace a foreigner's bosom?

21For a man's ways are before Yahweh's eyes, and he weighs all his paths.

22His iniquities snare the wicked, and the cords of his sin hold him fast.

23He will die for lack of discipline; in the abundance of his folly he will go astray.