Proverbs 5

Be Faithful to Your Wife

¹My son, if you listen closely

to my wisdom and good sense,

²you will have sound judgment,

and you will always know

the right thing to say.

³The words of an immoral woman

may be as sweet as honey

and as smooth as olive oil.

⁴But all that you really get

from being with her

is bitter poison and pain.

⁵If you follow her,

she will lead you down

to the world of the dead.

⁶She has missed the path

that leads to life

and doesn’t even know it.

⁷My son, listen to me

and do everything I say.

⁸Stay away from a bad woman!

Don’t even go near the door

of her house.

⁹You will lose your self-respect

and end up in debt

to some cruel person

for the rest of your life.

¹⁰Strangers will get your money

and everything else

you have worked for.

¹¹When it’s all over,

your body will waste away,

as you groan ¹²and shout,

“I hated advice and correction!

¹³I paid no attention

to my teachers,

¹⁴and now I am disgraced

in front of everyone.”

¹⁵You should be faithful

to your wife,

just as you take water

from your own well. ^{[a] 16}And don’t be like a stream

from which just any woman

may take a drink.

¹⁷Save yourself for your wife

and don’t have sex

with other women.

¹⁸Be happy with the wife

you married

when you were young.

¹⁹She is beautiful and graceful,

just like a deer;

you should be attracted to her

and stay deeply in love.

²⁰Don’t go crazy over a woman

who is unfaithful

to her own husband!

²¹The LORD sees everything,

and he watches us closely.

²²Sinners are trapped and caught

by their own evil deeds.

²³They get lost and die

because of their foolishness

and lack of self-control.