Proverbs 5 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
10th century BC, during the reign of King Solomon (~970-930 BC)
Location
Kingdom of Israel, centered in Jerusalem
Audience
Young men of Israel, addressed as 'my son' in paternal instruction
Situation
A father warns his son about the seductive dangers of the adulterous or immoral woman, whose path leads to poverty, shame, and death, while urging delight in the faithful wife of one's youth.
Key Background
Proverbs is a collection of wisdom literature primarily attributed to Solomon, emphasizing practical godly living through poetry and maxims. Chapter 5 personifies folly as a seductive woman in contrast to Lady Wisdom, reflecting ancient Near Eastern literary styles. In Israelite culture, adultery was a capital offense (Leviticus 20:10), and such teachings countered prevalent sexual temptations like temple prostitution while promoting covenantal marriage fidelity.
My son, pay close attention to my Lean in and listen to my
so that you'll hold on to and your lips will guard knowledge.
Because the lips of a drip and her words are smoother than olive oil —
but in the end she's as bitter as as sharp as a that both
Her feet go straight down to Her steps lead right to the
She never even thinks about the of Her ways wander all over the place, and she doesn't even realize it.
So now, my sons, listen to me. Don't turn away from what I'm telling you.
Keep your distance from her. Don't even go near the door of her house.
Otherwise you'll hand over to strangers and hard work to who has no
strangers will feast on your wealth, and everything you worked for will end up in someone else's house.
And at the end of life you'll groan, when and are spent,
and you'll say, "Why did I hate Why did my heart reject correction?
I didn't listen to my teachers. I didn't pay attention to the people who tried to guide me.
I came so close to — right there in front of the
Drink water from own running water from own
Should your overflow into the streets, your streams of water into the public squares?
They should be yours alone — not shared with strangers.
Let your be the source of your joy. Find your delight in the you when you were
A a lovely doe — let her body satisfy you at all times. Be completely by her love, always.
Why would you be intoxicated by a my son? Why would you embrace a who
Because sees everything a person does. He every path they take.
The wicked person's own will trap him. The of his own will hold him tight.
He will die because he refused and the depth of his own will