Proverbs Chapter 5
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 honour to others, and your years to the cruel one;
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labours 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, amongst 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 LORD's eyes. 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.
Footnotes
- Verse 5 (Sheol)
- Sheol is the place of the dead.
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Proverbs Chapter 5 Guide
This is a parental exhortation against impurity. It is expressed in words of great delicacy and beauty, but it is none the less urgent and searching. It recognizes one of the most subtle and natural temptations likely to assail the life of the young, and sets it in the light of true wisdom, which begins in the fear of Jehovah and expresses itself in perpetual recognition of Him. The allurement of the strange woman is vividly described, but it is put into immediate contrast with the issue of yielding thereto. It is a change from honey to wormwood, from the smoothness of oil to the sharpness of a sword, from the path of life to the highway of death. The woman's abode is to be shunned, lest the remorse of those who disobey become the portion of the soul. The paralysis caused by impurity is suggested in the advice that the ideal joys of the marriage relation must be hopelessly marred by all sinful indulgence.
Here, as everywhere, wisdom consists in recognizing that human life is ever under the observation, and within the government, of Jehovah. That government insures the taking of the wicked by the cords which they weave out of their own sins. Impurity of conduct may seem to be of silken texture in its enticement. It becomes a hard and unyielding cable when it binds the life in slavery.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Proverbs Chapter 5 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness. -- (1-14)
- Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked. -- (15-23)
Verses 1-14
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but the direct view is to warn against seventh-commandment sins. Often these have been, and still are, Satan's method of drawing men from the worship of God into false religion. Consider how fatal the consequences; how bitter the fruit! Take it any way, it wounds. It leads to the torments of hell. The direct tendency of this sin is to the destruction of body and soul. We must carefully avoid every thing which may be a step towards it. Those who would be kept from harm, must keep out of harm's way. If we thrust ourselves into temptation we mock God when we pray, Lead us not into temptation. How many mischiefs attend this sin! It blasts the reputation; it wastes time; it ruins the estate; it is destructive to health; it will fill the mind with horror. Though thou art merry now, yet sooner or later it will bring sorrow. The convinced sinner reproaches himself, and makes no excuse for his folly. By the frequent acts of sin, the habits of it become rooted and confirmed. By a miracle of mercy true repentance may prevent the dreadful consequences of such sins; but this is not often; far more die as they have lived. What can express the case of the self-ruined sinner in the eternal world, enduring the remorse of his conscience!
Verses 15-23
Lawful marriage is a means God has appointed to keep from these destructive vices. But we are not properly united, except as we attend to God's word, seeking his direction and blessing, and acting with affection. Ever remember, that though secret sins may escape the eyes of our fellow-creatures, yet a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, who not only sees, but ponders all his goings. Those who are so foolish as to choose the way of sin, are justly left of God to themselves, to go on in the way to destruction.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.