Proverbs 5 · ESV Study Bible

Warning Against Adultery

PROVERBS 5 [†] w My son, be attentive to my wisdom;

x incline your ear to my understanding,

2[†] that you may keep y discretion,

and your lips may z guard knowledge.

3[^] For the lips of a a forbidden [1] woman drip honey,

and her speech [2] is b smoother than oil,

4 but in the end she is c bitter as d wormwood,

e sharp as f a two-edged sword.

5[^] Her feet g go down to death;

her steps follow the path to [3] Sheol;

6 she h does not ponder the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

7[†] And i now, O sons, listen to me,

and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8 Keep your way far from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

9[†] lest you give your honor to others

and your years to the merciless,

10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your j labors go to the house of a foreigner,

11 and at the end of your life you k groan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

12 and you say, l “How I hated discipline,

and my heart m despised reproof!

13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

14 n I am at the brink of utter ruin

in the assembled congregation.”

15[†] Drink o water from your own cistern,

flowing water from your own well.

16 Should your p springs be scattered abroad,

streams of water q in the streets?

17 r Let them be for yourself alone,

and not for strangers with you.

18[†] Let your o fountain be blessed,

and s rejoice in t the wife of your youth,

19 a lovely u deer, a graceful doe.

Let her breasts v fill you at all times with delight;

be intoxicated [4] always in her love.

20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with w a forbidden woman

and embrace the bosom of w an adulteress? [5]

21[†] For x a man’s ways are y before the eyes of the LORD,

and he z ponders [6] all his paths.

22 The a iniquities of the wicked b ensnare him,

and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

23 c He dies for lack of discipline,

and because of his great folly he is d led astray.

PROVERBS—NOTE ON 5:2–3 One of the purposes of attending to wisdom is that the son’s lips may guard knowledge (v. 2), that is, his lips should not let anything go out from them that is inconsistent with true knowledge and wisdom. Such “guarded” speech has the best interest of both the speaker and the hearer in view (cf. Mal. 2:7, referring to the proper function of the priest). In contrast, the lips of a forbidden woman are flattering (they drip honey, Prov. 5:3) and her words are persuasive (her speech is smoother than oil), but her own end proves her words to be hollow and destructive (vv. 4–6).

PROVERBS—NOTE ON 5:21–23 For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD (v. 21) provides the grounds for the instruction of the chapter and acts as a reminder of the promises of God’s blessing if one stays on the good path (cf. the vocabulary with 4:26). It also provides warning if one’s path is heading toward an end consistent with its nature. Being led astray (5:23; the same Hb. word as “intoxicated,” vv. 19–20, see esv footnote; thus there is ironic contrast of the two kinds of being “led astray”—one into delight and the other into destruction) by the forbidden woman can result in being held fast in … sin (v. 22) and thus in a life that lays hold (cf. esv footnote on v. 5) of the path leading to death.

PROVERBS—NOTE ON 5:18–19 Proverbs calls unabashedly for seeking fulfillment in the sexual intimacy of marriage (Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight … be intoxicated) as the relational context where these desires are rightly fostered for the enjoyment (rejoice in the wife of your youth) and good (Let your fountain be blessed) of both husband and wife. (Regarding “be intoxicated,” see esv footnote: Hb. “be led astray”—i.e., in the sense of being “swept away” with delight in one’s wife.)

PROVERBS—NOTE ON 5:9–14 Verses 9 and 10 begin the description of consequences (lest) for failing to heed the instruction of vv. 7 and 8. Following the lures of the forbidden woman (see note on 2:16–17) results in having what is meant for enjoyment (honor and years, 5:9; strength and labors, v. 10) being given over to others, and also produces regret over the wasting of body and soul (vv. 11–13) and shame within the corporate body (v. 14). Although the terms in vv. 9–10 (others, merciless, strangers, and foreigner) could refer to the husband and family of the woman with whom adultery would be committed (cf. 6:34–35), they need not be understood as referring exclusively to them. Proverbs often describes the foolish path as one that squanders the very good it deceptively offers (see 1:10–19).

PROVERBS—NOTE ON 5:1–23 Eighth Paternal Appeal: Sexuality. After the introductory words in vv. 1–2, the entire appeal concerns matters of sexual morality. First, the immoral woman is introduced: she is alluring but deadly (vv. 3–6). An exhortation to stay far from such promiscuous women follows (vv. 7–14). The text then gives a brief but powerful presentation of the essentials of biblical teaching on sexual ethics. It asserts that sexual pleasure is good but that it must be confined to marriage (vv. 15–20). The passage concludes with a brief account of the woes that befall the immoral man (vv. 21–23). This illustrates the principle of “concreteness” (see Introduction: Literary Features). Of course other sexual dangers exist (such as a woman being tempted by an immoral man, temptations to homosexual conduct, incest, or sexual abuse of children), and the wise person applies this counsel by making the appropriate adaptations.