Proverbs 5:1-13 ▼

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!