Proverbs 5:1-6

New International Version

Warning Against Adultery

5 My son,^(A) pay attention to my wisdom,
    turn your ear to my words^(B) of insight,
²that you may maintain discretion
    and your lips may preserve knowledge.
³For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil;^(C)
⁴but in the end she is bitter as gall,^(D)
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
⁵Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.^(E)
⁶She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.^(F)

Read full chapter

Proverbs 6:20-29

New International Version

Warning Against Adultery

²⁰My son,^(A) keep your father’s command
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.^(B)
²¹Bind them always on your heart;
    fasten them around your neck.^(C)
²²When you walk, they will guide you;
    when you sleep, they will watch over you;
    when you awake, they will speak to you.
²³For this command is a lamp,
    this teaching is a light,^(D)
and correction and instruction
    are the way to life,^(E)
²⁴keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
    from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.^(F)

²⁵Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes.

²⁶For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
    but another man’s wife preys on your very life.^(G)
²⁷Can a man scoop fire into his lap
    without his clothes being burned?
²⁸Can a man walk on hot coals
    without his feet being scorched?
²⁹So is he who sleeps^(H) with another man’s wife;^(I)
    no one who touches her will go unpunished.

Read full chapter

Proverbs 7:5-27

New International Version

⁵They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words.^(A)

⁶At the window of my house
    I looked down through the lattice.
⁷I saw among the simple,
    I noticed among the young men,
    a youth who had no sense.^(B)
⁸He was going down the street near her corner,
    walking along in the direction of her house
⁹at twilight,^(C) as the day was fading,
    as the dark of night set in.

¹⁰Then out came a woman to meet him,
    dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
¹¹(She is unruly^(D) and defiant,
    her feet never stay at home;
¹²now in the street, now in the squares,
    at every corner she lurks.)^(E)
¹³She took hold of him^(F) and kissed him
    and with a brazen face she said:^(G)

¹⁴“Today I fulfilled my vows,
    and I have food from my fellowship offering^(H) at home.
¹⁵So I came out to meet you;
    I looked for you and have found you!
¹⁶I have covered my bed
    with colored linens from Egypt.
¹⁷I have perfumed my bed^(I)
    with myrrh,^(J) aloes and cinnamon.
¹⁸Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning;
    let’s enjoy ourselves with love!^(K)
¹⁹My husband is not at home;
    he has gone on a long journey.
²⁰He took his purse filled with money
    and will not be home till full moon.”

²¹With persuasive words she led him astray;
    she seduced him with her smooth talk.^(L)
²²All at once he followed her
    like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer^[a] stepping into a noose^[b]^(M)
²³    till an arrow pierces^(N) his liver,
like a bird darting into a snare,
    little knowing it will cost him his life.^(O)

²⁴Now then, my sons, listen^(P) to me;
    pay attention to what I say.
²⁵Do not let your heart turn to her ways
    or stray into her paths.^(Q)
²⁶Many are the victims she has brought down;
    her slain are a mighty throng.
²⁷Her house is a highway to the grave,
    leading down to the chambers of death.^(R)