Pro 5 | ESV | STEP | My son , be attentive to my wisdom ; incline your ear to my understanding ,

z[See ver. 15 above]

aa Deut. 24:5

ab Mal. 2:14

ac Song 2:9, 17; 8:14

ad[Jer. 31:14]

afSee ch. 2:16

agSee ch. 2:16

ai Ps. 119:168

aj Hos. 7:2; Heb. 4:13; See Job 14:16; Ps. 11:4

ak ver. 6

amSee Ps. 7:15, 16

an ch. 6:2

aoSee Job 4:21

ap[Job 12:24]

‏ Proverbs 5

Warning Against Adultery

1 ^aMy son, be attentive to my wisdom;
^bincline your ear to my understanding,
2 that you may keep ^cdiscretion,
and your lips may ^dguard knowledge.
3 For the lips of ^ea forbidden ^{▼▼Hebrew strange; also verse 20} woman drip honey,
and her speech ^{▼▼Hebrew palate} is ^hsmoother than oil,
4 but in the end she is ⁱbitter as ^jwormwood,
^ksharp as ^la two-edged sword.
5 Her feet ^mgo down to death;
her steps follow the path to ^{▼▼Hebrew lay hold of} Sheol;
6 she ^odoes not ponder the path of life;
her ways wander, and she does not know it.
7 And ^pnow, O 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 honor to others
and your years to the merciless,
10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
and your ^qlabors go to the house of a foreigner,
11 and at the end of your life you ^rgroan,
when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you say, ^s“How I hated discipline,
and my heart ^tdespised reproof!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
or incline my ear to my instructors.
14 ^uI am at the brink of utter ruin
in the assembled congregation.”
15 Drink ^vwater from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well.
16 Should your ^wsprings be scattered abroad,
streams of water ^xin the streets?
17 ^yLet them be for yourself alone,
and not for strangers with you.
18 Let your ^zfountain be blessed,
and ^aarejoice in ^abthe wife of your youth,
19 a lovely ^acdeer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts ^adfill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated ^{▼▼Hebrew be led astray; also verse 20} always in her love.
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with ^afa forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom of ^agan adulteress? ^{▼▼Hebrew a foreign woman}
21 For ^aia man’s ways are ^ajbefore the eyes of the Lord,
and he ^akponders ^{▼▼Or makes level} all his paths.
22 The ^aminiquities of the wicked ^anensnare him,
and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
23 ^aoHe dies for lack of discipline,
and because of his great folly he is ^apled astray.