Proverbs 5

My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:

My child, embrace my wisdom, and listen closely to my insights.

That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

May you embrace wisdom and let your words reflect understanding.

For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:

The words of the forbidden woman, the adulteress, are sweet as honey, and her voice, smoother than silk.

But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

But her finale is as harsh as poison, cutting like a double-edged blade.

Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

She walks a path that leads to demise; each stride she takes is a step closer to the abyss.

Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

She gives no thought to the path of life; her ways wander, and you cannot tell where they lead.

Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

Listen closely, my dear children, never stray from my spoken words.

Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

Stay away from her, don't even approach her doorstep.

Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:

Don't sacrifice your self-respect for others, nor waste your life on those who are unkind.

Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;

Don't let outsiders take away your hard-earned wealth; don't let your efforts benefit a stranger's household.

And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

You'll regret deeply in the end, when your body and health have deteriorated.

And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

I lament, "Why did I detest guidance and my heart scorn correction?"

And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

I ignored the guidance of my mentors and turned a deaf ear to those who tried to teach me.

I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

I found myself nearly consumed by wickedness, even while surrounded by the community and gathering.

Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.

Drink water from your own cistern, fresh water from your own well: find your delight in your own wife.

Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.

Spread your blessings far and wide, like rivers flowing through the streets.

Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.

Keep them solely for yourself, don't share them with strangers.

Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

May your source of life be filled with blessings; find joy and happiness with the woman you married in your youth.

Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.

May she be as tender and delightful as a cherished doe; let her breasts satisfy you always; and may you forever be captivated by her love.

And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

Why, my child, would you lose yourself in the arms of an adulteress, in the embrace of a woman who is not yours?

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

God sees every move we make, and deeply considers all our actions.

His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

A person's own wrongdoings will trap them, ensnared by the chains of their sins.

He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Without guidance, he will perish; lost in his own foolish pride.