Proverbs 5

The father warns his son against the seductive words of the strange woman, whose lips drip honey but whose end is bitter as wormwood. He urges him to drink water from his own well — to find delight in the wife of his youth — and to remember that the LORD sees every path a man takes.

v	King James Version	Modern English
1	My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:	My son, pay attention to my wisdom; bow Your ear to my understanding,
2	That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.	so that You may keep discretion, and that Your lips may preserve knowledge.
3	For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:	For the lips of a strange woman drip like a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil;
4	But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.	but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
5	Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.	Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
6	Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.	Lest You should ponder the path of life, her ways are unstable; You cannot know them.
7	Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.	Therefore listen to me now, my children, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8	Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:	Remove Your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,
9	Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:	lest You give Your honor to others and Your years to the cruel;
10	Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;	lest strangers be filled with Your wealth, and Your labors end up in the house of a stranger;
11	And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,	and You mourn at the last, when Your flesh and body are consumed,
12	And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;	and say, "How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised correction!
13	And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!	I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me.
14	I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.	I was at the brink of total ruin in the midst of the congregation and assembly."
15	Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.	Drink water from Your own cistern, and running water from Your own well.
16	Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.	Should Your fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of water in the streets?
17	Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.	Let them be only Your own, and not for strangers with You.
18	Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.	Let Your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of Your youth.
19	Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.	Let her be as a loving hind and a graceful doe; let her breasts satisfy You at all times, and always be enraptured with her love.
20	And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?	Why will You, my son, be enraptured with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21	For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.	For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He ponders all His paths.
22	His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.	His own iniquities will trap the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sins.
23	He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.	He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.