Proverbs 5:1-14 - Avoid Seduction
1
Incline your ear to my understanding;
That you may exercise discrimination and discretion (good judgment),
And your lips may reserve knowledge and answer wisely [to temptation].
For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey [like a honeycomb]
And her speech is smoother than oil;
But in the end she is bitter like [the extract of] wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
Her steps take hold of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
So that she does not think [seriously] about the path of life;
Her ways are aimless and unstable; you cannot know where her path leads.
7
Now then, my sons, listen to me
And do not depart from (forget) the words of my mouth.
Let your way [in life] be far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house [avoid even being near the places of temptation],
Or you will give your honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one,
And strangers will be filled with your strength
And your hard-earned wealth will go to the house of a foreigner [who does not know God];
And you will groan when your life is ending,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
And you say, “How I hated instruction and discipline,
And my heart despised correction and reproof!
“I have not listened to the voice of my teachers,
Nor have I inclined my ear to those who instructed me.
“I was almost in total ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”