Proverbs 5
A father warns his son to avoid the deceit of a loose woman, whose lips may be sweet but ultimately lead to bitterness and death. He advises his son to listen to his words and stay away from her, lest he lose his honor and strength to outsiders. Instead, the father encourages his son to find joy and satisfaction in his own wife, comparing her to a refreshing spring and a loving doe. Ultimately, the father notes that those who reject discipline and pursue sin will be bound by their own iniquities and deceived by their own foolishness.
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, and incline your ear to my prudenceso that you may guard your thinking, and so that your lips may preserve discipline. Do not pay attention to the deceit of a womanFor the lips of a loose woman are like a dripping honeycomb, and her voice is smoother than oilBut in the end, she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged swordHer feet descend into death, and her steps reach even to HellThey do not walk along the path of life; her steps are wandering and untraceableTherefore, my son, listen to me now, and do not withdraw from the words of my mouthMake your way at a distance from her, and do not approach the doors of her houseDo not give your honor to foreigners, and your years to the cruelOtherwise, outsiders may be filled with your strength, and your labors may be in a foreign houseand you may mourn in the end, when you will have consumed your flesh and your body. And so you may say"Why have I detested discipline, and why has my heart not been quieted by correctionAnd why have I not listened to the voice of those who guided me? And why has my ear not inclined to my teachersI have almost been with all evil in the midst of the church and of the assembly.Drink water from your own cistern and from the springs of your own wellLet your fountains be diverted far and wide, and divide your waters in the streetsHold them for yourself alone, and do not let strangers be partakers with youLet your spring be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youtha beloved doe and most pleasing fawn. Let her breasts inebriate you at all times. Be delighted continually by her loveWhy are you seduced, my son, by a strange woman, and why are you kept warm by the bosom of anotherThe Lord beholds the ways of man, and he considers all his stepsHis own iniquities take hold of the impious, and he is bound by the cords of his own sinsHe shall die, for he has not held to discipline. And by the multitude of his foolishness, he shall be deceived
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