The Word Am I

The Proverbs

⭑ Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

⮜ Back | Contents | Next ⮞

- Chapter 5 -

Admonition to marriage. Warning against unchastity

(Leviticus 20:10-21; 1 Corinthians 5:1-8)
1
My son! Give attention to my wisdom, || Incline your ear to my understanding,
2
To observe thoughtfulness, || And your lips keep knowledge.
3
For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, || And her mouth [is] smoother than oil,
4
And her latter end [is] bitter as wormwood, || Sharp as a sword [with] mouths.
5
Her feet are going down to death, || Her steps take hold of Sheol.
6
The path of life—lest you ponder, || Her paths have moved—you do not know.
7
And now, you sons, listen to me, || And do not turn from sayings of my mouth.
8
Keep your way far from off her, || And do not come near to the opening of her house,
9
Lest you give your splendor to others, || And your years to the fierce,
10
Lest strangers be filled [with] your power, || And your labors in the house of a stranger,
11
And you have howled in your latter end, || In the consumption of your flesh and your food,
12
And have said, “How I have hated instruction, || And my heart has despised reproof,
13
And I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, || And have not inclined my ear to my teachers.
14
As a little thing I have been all evil, || In the midst of an assembly and a congregation.”

Married life

15
Drink waters out of your own cistern, || Even flowing ones out of your own well.
16
Let your fountains be scattered abroad, || In broad places streams of waters.
17
Let them be to you for yourself, || And not to strangers with you.
18
Let your fountain be blessed, || And rejoice because of the wife of your youth,
19
A doe of loves, and a roe of grace! Let her loves satisfy you at all times, || Magnify yourself in her love continually.
20
And why do you magnify yourself, || My son, with a stranger? And embrace the bosom of a strange woman?
21
For the ways of each are before the eyes of YHWH, || And He is pondering all his paths.
22
His own iniquities capture the wicked, || And he is holden with the ropes of his sin.
23
He dies without instruction, || And magnifies himself in the abundance of his folly!
Copyright © 2020 Covenant Press and the CCC - licensed under CC BY-SA

Admonition to marriage. Warning against unchastity

(Leviticus 20:10-21; 1 Corinthians 5:1-8)
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.(a)
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
I haven’t 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, among the gathered assembly.”

Married life

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

(a)5:5 Sheol is the place of the dead.
⮜ Back | Contents | Next ⮞