Proverbs 5:1-23 AMP

[1] My son, be attentive to my wisdom [godly wisdom learned by costly experience], Incline your ear to my understanding; [2] That you may exercise discrimination and discretion (good judgment), And your lips may reserve knowledge and answer wisely [to temptation]. [3] For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey [like a honeycomb] And her speech is smoother than oil; [4] But in the end she is bitter like [the extract of] wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. [5] Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), [6] So that she does not think [seriously] about the path of life; Her ways are aimless and unstable; you cannot know where her path leads. [7] Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not depart from (forget) the words of my mouth. [8] Let your way [in life] be far from her, And do not go near the door of her house [avoid even being near the places of temptation], [9] Or you will give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one, [10] And strangers will be filled with your strength And your hard-earned wealth will go to the house of a foreigner [who does not know God]; [11] And you will groan when your life is ending, When your flesh and your body are consumed; [12] And you say, “How I hated instruction and discipline, And my heart despised correction and reproof! [13] I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor have I inclined my ear to those who instructed me. [14] I was almost in total ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation.” [15] Drink water from your own cistern [of a pure marriage relationship] And fresh running water from your own well. [16] Should your springs (children) be dispersed, As streams of water in the streets? [17] [Confine yourself to your own wife.] Let your children be yours alone, And not the children of strangers with you. [18] Let your fountain (wife) be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], And rejoice in the wife of your youth. [19] Let her be as a loving hind and graceful doe, Let her breasts refresh and satisfy you at all times; Always be exhilarated and delight in her love. [20] Why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an immoral woman And embrace the bosom of an outsider (pagan)? [21] For the ways of man are directly before the eyes of the LORD, And He carefully watches all of his paths [all of his comings and goings]. [22] The iniquities done by a wicked man will trap him, And he will be held with the cords of his sin. [23] He will die for lack of instruction (discipline), And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray and be lost.