Proverbs 5: Faithfulness and the Adulteress
The father warns his son of the adulteress's deadly path and calls him to rejoice in the wife of his youth.
Proverbs 5 (WEB)
1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:
2 that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,
4 But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.
6 She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it.
7 Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don’t depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove your way far from her. Don’t come near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man’s house.
11 You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,
12 and say, “How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
13 neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!
14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin, in the midst of the gathered assembly.”
15 Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.
18 Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 A loving doe and a graceful deer— let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh. He examines all his paths.
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
23 He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.
Proverbs 5 (KJV)
1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
19 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.
20 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
Proverbs 5 (ASV)
1 My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding:
2 That thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil:
4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold on Sheol;
6 So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, andshe knoweth it not.
7 Now therefore, mysons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove thy way far from her, And come not nigh the door of her house;
9 Lest thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;
10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, And thy labors be in the house of an alien,
11 And thou mourn at thy latter end, When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12 And say, How have I hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof;
13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14 I was well-nigh in all evil In the midst of the assembly and congregation.
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well.
16 Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.
19 Asa loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love.
20 For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah; And he maketh level all his paths.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
Summary
The father urges his son to pay attention to wisdom so he may keep discretion. He warns that the lips of an adulteress drip honey and her mouth is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood and her feet go down to death. He pleads with his son to keep far from her door, lest he give his honor, years, and wealth to strangers and groan at the end of his life, confessing too late that he hated instruction and ignored his teachers. Instead, the father calls him to drink from his own cistern and to rejoice in the wife of his youth, to be satisfied and captivated always by her love rather than embracing another. He closes with the sobering reminder that the ways of every person are before the eyes of Yahweh, who examines all his paths; the wicked are ensnared and held fast by the cords of their own sin.
Main Characters
- The father — The teacher who warns his son against the adulteress and commends faithful love within marriage.
- The son — The one urged to keep far from the seductress and to rejoice in the wife of his youth.
- The adulteress — The seductive woman whose words drip honey but whose path leads down to death and Sheol.
- The wife of his youth — The beloved spouse in whose love the son is called to be satisfied and captivated always.
- Yahweh — The Lord before whose eyes all a person's ways lie open, who examines every path.
Key Verse
Proverbs 5:21 (WEB)
For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh. He examines all his paths.
Lessons Learned
- Temptation often arrives sweet and smooth but ends in bitterness and ruin.
- Sin's pleasures are short-lived, while their consequences can mark the whole of life.
- God designed marital faithfulness to be a source of lasting joy and satisfaction.
- All our ways are fully seen by God, who weighs every path we walk.
- Temptation is sweet at first but bitter in the end. 'For the lips of an adulteress drip honey... But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood' (Proverbs 5:3-4, WEB). Sin disguises its true cost behind an alluring beginning.
- Keep a wide distance from temptation. 'Remove your way far from her. Don't come near the door of her house' (Proverbs 5:8, WEB). Wisdom avoids the edge of sin rather than testing how close it can stand.
- Rejecting instruction leads to regret. The fool finally groans, 'How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof' (Proverbs 5:12, WEB). Despising correction now invites bitter regret later.
- Faithful love within marriage is a gift to rejoice in. 'Rejoice in the wife of your youth... Be captivated always with her love' (Proverbs 5:18-19, WEB). God means marital love to be a wellspring of delight and contentment.
- God sees every path we walk. 'For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh. He examines all his paths' (Proverbs 5:21, WEB). Nothing we do is hidden from God's sight.
- Sin entangles and holds the sinner fast. 'The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly' (Proverbs 5:22, WEB). Sin is not freedom but a snare that traps the one who indulges it.
- How does the chapter describe the contrast between the adulteress's beginning and her end?
- What does the son stand to lose by ignoring this warning, according to verses 9 to 14?
- How does the father describe faithful love in marriage in verses 15 to 19?
- What does verse 21 teach about God's awareness of our private choices?
- What safeguards help you remain faithful in your commitments, and where do you sense you need to strengthen them?
- The adulteress begins sweetly: her lips 'drip honey' and her mouth is 'smoother than oil' (Proverbs 5:3, WEB). But in the end she is 'as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword,' and 'her feet go down to death' (Proverbs 5:4-5, WEB). The pleasant beginning hides a deadly end.
- Verses 9 to 14 warn that the son may give 'his honor to others,' his 'years to the cruel one,' and his wealth and labors to strangers, ending in groaning ruin and public shame (Proverbs 5:9-14, WEB). The cost is honor, time, wealth, and a wasted life.
- Verses 15 to 19 use images of drinking from one's 'own cistern' and 'own well,' and command, 'Rejoice in the wife of your youth' and 'Be captivated always with her love' (Proverbs 5:15-19, WEB). Faithful marital love is portrayed as satisfying and joyful.
- Verse 21 says, 'For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh. He examines all his paths' (Proverbs 5:21, WEB). Even our most private choices are fully seen and weighed by God, which calls us to live with integrity.
- This is a personal-application question; handle it with sensitivity and invite voluntary sharing. Use Proverbs 5:8 (WEB) on keeping far from temptation to discuss practical safeguards like accountability, honesty, and avoiding compromising situations.