Proverbs 2:16–20; Proverbs 5; Proverbs 6:24–35; Proverbs 7; Proverbs 9:13–18; Proverbs 22:14; Proverbs 23:26–28; Proverbs 29:3; Proverbs 30:20; Proverbs 31:2–3

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Proverbs 2:16–20

16  So pyou will be delivered from the forbidden1 woman,

from qthe adulteress2 with rher smooth words,

17  who forsakes sthe companion of her youth

and forgets tthe covenant of her God;

18  ufor her house sinks down to death,

and her paths to the departed;3

19  none who go to her come back,

nor do they regain the paths of life.

20  So you will walk in the way of the good

and keep to the paths of the righteous.


Proverbs 5

Warning Against Adultery

wMy son, be attentive to my wisdom;

xincline your ear to my understanding,

that you may keep ydiscretion,

and your lips may zguard knowledge.

For the lips of aa forbidden1 woman drip honey,

and her speech2 is bsmoother than oil,

but in the end she is cbitter as dwormwood,

esharp as fa two-edged sword.

Her feet ggo down to death;

her steps follow the path to3 Sheol;

she hdoes not ponder the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

And inow, O sons, listen to me,

and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

Keep your way far from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

lest you give your honor to others

and your years to the merciless,

10  lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your jlabors go to the house of a foreigner,

11  and at the end of your life you kgroan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

12  and you say, lHow I hated discipline,

and my heart mdespised reproof!

13  I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

14  nI am at the brink of utter ruin

in the assembled congregation.

15  Drink owater from your own cistern,

flowing water from your own well.

16  Should your psprings be scattered abroad,

streams of water qin the streets?

17  rLet them be for yourself alone,

and not for strangers with you.

18  Let your ofountain be blessed,

and srejoice in tthe wife of your youth,

19  a lovely udeer, a graceful doe.

Let her breasts vfill you at all times with delight;

be intoxicated4 always in her love.

20  Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with wa forbidden woman

and embrace the bosom of wan adulteress?5

21  For xa man’s ways are ybefore the eyes of the Lord,

and he zponders6 all his paths.

22  The ainiquities of the wicked bensnare him,

and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

23  cHe dies for lack of discipline,

and because of his great folly he is dled astray.


Proverbs 6:24–35

24  to preserve you from the evil woman,1

from the smooth tongue of sthe adulteress.2

25  tDo not desire her beauty in your heart,

and do not let her capture you with her ueyelashes;

26  for vthe price of a prostitute is only wa loaf of bread,3

but a married woman4 xhunts down a precious life.

27  Can a man carry yfire next to his zchest

and his clothes not be burned?

28  Or can one awalk on hot coals

and his feet not be scorched?

29  So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

none who touches her bwill go unpunished.

30  People do not despise a thief if he steals

to csatisfy his appetite when he is hungry,

31  but dif he is caught, he will pay esevenfold;

he will give all the goods of his house.

32  He who commits adultery lacks sense;

he who does it destroys himself.

33  He will get wounds and dishonor,

and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

34  For fjealousy makes a man furious,

and he will not spare when ghe takes revenge.

35  He will accept no compensation;

he will refuse though you multiply gifts.


Proverbs 7

Warning Against the Adulteress

hMy son, keep my words

and htreasure up my commandments with you;

ikeep my commandments and live;

keep my teaching as jthe apple of your eye;

kbind them on your fingers;

kwrite them on the tablet of your heart.

Say to wisdom, You are my sister,

and call insight your intimate friend,

to keep you from lthe forbidden1 woman,

from lthe adulteress2 with her smooth words.

For at mthe window of my house

I have looked out through my lattice,

and I have seen among nthe simple,

I have perceived among the youths,

a young man olacking sense,

passing along the street pnear her corner,

taking the road to her house

in qthe twilight, in the evening,

at rthe time of night and darkness.

10  And behold, the woman meets him,

sdressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.3

11  She is tloud and uwayward;

vher feet do not stay at home;

12  now in the street, now in the market,

and wat every corner she xlies in wait.

13  She seizes him and kisses him,

and with ybold face she says to him,

14  I had to zoffer sacrifices,4

and today I have apaid my vows;

15  so now I have come out to meet you,

to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.

16  I have spread my couch with bcoverings,

colored linens from cEgyptian linen;

17  I have perfumed my bed with dmyrrh,

aloes, and ecinnamon.

18  Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;

let us delight ourselves with love.

19  For fmy husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey;

20  he took a bag of money with him;

at full moon he will come home.

21  With much seductive speech she persuades him;

with gher smooth talk she compels him.

22  All at once he follows her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

or as a stag is caught fast5

23  till an arrow pierces its liver;

as ha bird rushes into a snare;

he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24  And inow, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

25  Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;

do not stray into her paths,

26  for many a victim has she laid low,

and all her slain are ja mighty throng.

27  Her house is kthe way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death.


Proverbs 9:13–18

The Way of Folly

13  tThe woman Folly is uloud;

she is seductive1 and vknows nothing.

14  She sits at the door of her house;

she takes a seat on wthe highest places of the town,

15  calling to those who pass by,

who are xgoing straight on their way,

16  yWhoever is simple, let him turn in here!

And to him who lacks sense she says,

17  zStolen water is sweet,

and abread eaten in secret is pleasant.

18  But he does not know bthat the dead2 are there,

that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.


Proverbs 22:14

14  The mouth of kforbidden1 women is la deep pit;

mhe with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.


Proverbs 23:26–28

26  My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe1 my ways.

27  For a prostitute is ha deep pit;

ian adulteress2 is a narrow jwell.

28  kShe lies in wait like a robber

and increases the traitors among mankind.


Proverbs 29:3

He who eloves wisdom makes his father glad,

but fa companion of prostitutes gsquanders his wealth.


Proverbs 30:20

20  This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats and wipes her mouth

and says, I have done no wrong.


Proverbs 31:2–3

What are you doing, my son?1 What are you doing, fson of my womb?

What are you doing, gson of my vows?

Do hnot give your strength to women,

your ways to those iwho destroy kings.