English Standard Version

New King James Version

Warning Against Adultery

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

1

The Peril of Adultery

My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
[a]Lend your ear to my understanding,

2

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

2

That you may [b]preserve discretion,
And your lips may keep knowledge.

3

For the lips of a forbiddena woman drip honey,
and her speechb is smoother than oil,

3

For the lips of [c]an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is smoother than oil;

4

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

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 follow the path toc Sheol;

5

Her feet go down to death,
Her steps lay hold of [d]hell.

6

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

6

Lest you ponder her path of life —
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know them.

7

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

7

Therefore hear me now, my children,
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,

8

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

9

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

9

Lest you give your [e]honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;

10

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

10

Lest aliens be filled with your [f]wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;

11

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

11

And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,

12

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

12

And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!

13

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

13

I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!

14

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

14

I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

15

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

15

Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.

16

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

16

Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
[g]Streams of water in the streets?

17

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

17

Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.

18

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

18

Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with the wife of your youth.

19

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

19

As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be [h]enraptured with her love.

20

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

20

For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

21

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

21

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He [i]ponders all his paths.

22

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

22

His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.

23

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

23

He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Parallel

English Standard Version

New King James Version

Proverbs 5

Proverbs 5