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English Standard Version

Warning Against Adultery

My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
turn your ear to my words of insight,

1

Warning Against Adultery

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

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that you may maintain discretion
and your lips may preserve knowledge.

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

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For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;

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

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but in the end she is bitter as gall,
sharp as a double-edged sword.

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

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Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.

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

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She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.

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

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Now then, my sons, listen to me;
do not turn aside from what I say.

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

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Keep to a path far from her,
do not go near the door of her house,

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

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lest you lose your honor to others
and your dignitya to one who is cruel,

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

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lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich the house of another.

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

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At the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are spent.

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

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You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!

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

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I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.

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

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And I was soon in serious trouble
in the assembly of God’s people.”

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

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

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

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Should your springs overflow in the streets,
your streams of water in the public squares?

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

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Let them be yours alone,
never to be shared with strangers.

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

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May your fountain be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.

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

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A loving doe, a graceful deer —
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be intoxicated with her love.

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

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Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

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

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For your ways are in full view of the Lord,
and he examines all your paths.

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

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The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;
the cords of their sins hold them fast.

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

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For lack of discipline they will die,
led astray by their own great folly.

23

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

Parallel

New International Version

English Standard Version

Proverbs 5

Proverbs 5