Proverbs 5:1-23
The Bitter End of Adultery
1My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight,
2that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
4in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword.
5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.
6She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.
7So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth.
8Keep your path far from her; do not go near the door of her house,
9lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel;
10lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.
11At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,
12and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
13I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors.
14I am on the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.”
15Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
16Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
17Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
18May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
19A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.
20Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
22The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
23He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
Berean Standard Bible
The father addresses a subject that requires both honesty and care. He warns his son about the forbidden woman whose words sound sweet at first but become bitter. The danger is not merely a private mistake; adultery takes a person away from wisdom, damages a covenant, and creates consequences that cannot be controlled once the choice has been made.
The instruction is blunt about distance: keep far from her door. Wisdom does not always mean standing close to temptation to prove strength. Sometimes faithfulness means recognizing a situation early and leaving before desire begins negotiating with conscience.
The chapter then turns toward marriage. The image of a person's own cistern and well is a call to rejoice in the wife of his youth, to find delight in her love, and to let that joy remain within the marriage covenant. It is not permission to treat a spouse as property. The surrounding warning makes the point about faithful devotion, mutual delight, and the protection of a shared life.
The final question is searching: why should a person embrace the forbidden woman when the LORD sees all his ways? The chapter ends by describing sin as a rope that entangles the wicked. The warning is severe because the loss is severe, but its purpose is rescue before a hidden appetite becomes a public ruin.
Questions
1 How does the forbidden woman's speech change?
AnswerIt seems sweet at first, but its end is bitter, bringing a person into danger and away from the path of life.
2 What practical action does the father command?
AnswerHe commands his son to keep far from the woman's door instead of treating proximity to temptation as harmless.
3 What does the marriage imagery encourage?
AnswerIt encourages faithful joy, delight, and exclusive love within the covenant of marriage.
4 Why should hidden sin not be treated as hidden from God?
AnswerThe LORD sees every person's ways, so secrecy from people does not remove accountability before Him.
What This Means for Us
Faithfulness is helped by concrete boundaries, not only by good intentions. Couples can protect their covenant through honesty, attention, and the willingness to remove situations that feed secrecy. Those who have sinned need truthful repentance and wise help, not the fiction that consequences are unimportant.
The chapter's directness should never be used to shame victims or excuse abuse. It addresses the responsibility of the person who chooses betrayal and calls that person back before desire becomes a master.
Prayer
God of holiness, protect our marriages, friendships, and inner lives from secrecy and betrayal. Give us courage to leave temptation early, honesty to confess sin, and grace to pursue faithful love. Amen.