Proverbs 5

1 son, attend to my wisdom, and apply thine ear to my words;

2 that thou mayest keep good understanding, and the discretion of my lips gives thee a charge. Give no heed to a worthless woman;

3 for honey drops from the lips of a harlot, who for a season pleases thy palate:

4 but afterwards thou wilt find her more bitter than gall, and sharper than a two-edged sword.

5 For the feet of folly lead those who deal with her down to the grave with death; and her steps are not established.

6 For she goes not upon the paths of life; but her ways are slippery, and not easily known.

7 Now then, son, hear me, and make not my words of none effect.

8 Remove thy way far from her; draw not near to the doors of her house:

9 lest thou give away thy life to others, and thy substance to the merciless:

10 lest strangers be filled with thy strength, and thy labours come into the houses of strangers;

11 And thou repent at last, when the flesh of thy body is consumed,

12 and thou shalt say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart avoided reproofs!

13 I heard not the voice of him that instructed me, and taught me, neither did I apply mine ear.

14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

15 Drink waters out of thine own vessels, and out of thine own springing wells.

16 Let not waters out of thy fountain be spilt by thee, but let thy waters go into thy streets.

17 Let them be only thine own, and let no stranger partake with thee.

18 Let thy fountain of water be thine own; and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

19 Let loving hart and thy graceful colt company with thee, and let her be considered thine own, and be with thee at all times; for ravished with her love thou shalt be greatly increased.

20 Be not intimate with a strange woman, neither fold thyself in the arms of a woman not thine own.

21 For the ways of a man are before the eyes of God, and he looks on all his paths.

22 Iniquities ensnare a man, and every one is bound in the chains of his own sins.

23 Such a man dies with the uninstructed; and he is cast forth from the abundance of his own substance, and has perished through folly.

Proverbs 5 Commentary

Chapter 5

Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness. (1-14) Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked. (15-23)

Verses 1-14 Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but the direct view is to warn against seventh-commandment sins. Often these have been, and still are, Satan's method of drawing men from the worship of God into false religion. Consider how fatal the consequences; how bitter the fruit! Take it any way, it wounds. It leads to the torments of hell. The direct tendency of this sin is to the destruction of body and soul. We must carefully avoid every thing which may be a step towards it. Those who would be kept from harm, must keep out of harm's way. If we thrust ourselves into temptation we mock God when we pray, Lead us not into temptation. How many mischiefs attend this sin! It blasts the reputation; it wastes time; it ruins the estate; it is destructive to health; it will fill the mind with horror. Though thou art merry now, yet sooner or later it will bring sorrow. The convinced sinner reproaches himself, and makes no excuse for his folly. By the frequent acts of sin, the habits of it become rooted and confirmed. By a miracle of mercy true repentance may prevent the dreadful consequences of such sins; but this is not often; far more die as they have lived. What can express the case of the self-ruined sinner in the eternal world, enduring the remorse of his conscience!

Verses 15-23 Lawful marriage is a means God has appointed to keep from these destructive vices. But we are not properly united, except as we attend to God's word, seeking his direction and blessing, and acting with affection. Ever remember, that though secret sins may escape the eyes of our fellow-creatures, yet a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, who not only sees, but ponders all his goings. Those who are so foolish as to choose the way of sin, are justly left of God to themselves, to go on in the way to destruction.

Footnotes

• [a]. Gr. a more bitter thing.
• [b]. Alex. omits 'not.'

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 5

The general instruction of this chapter is to avoid whoredom, and make use of lawful marriage, and keep to that. It is introduced with an exhortation to attend to wisdom and understanding, Pr 5:1,2; one part of which lies in shunning an adulterous woman; who is described by her flattery, with which she deceives; by the end she brings men to, which is destruction and death; and by the uncertainty of her ways, which cannot be known, Pr 5:3-6. Wherefore men are advised to keep at the utmost distance from her, Pr 5:7,8; lest their honour, strength, wealth, and labours, be given to others, Pr 5:9,10; and repentance and mourning follow, when too late, Pr 5:11-14. And, as a remedy against whoredom, entering into a marriage state is advised to, and a strict regard to that; allegorically expressed by a man's drinking water out of his fountain, and by his wife being as a loving hind and pleasant roe to him, the single object of his affections, Pr 5:15-19. As also the consideration of the divine omniscience is proposed, to deter him from the sin of adultery, Pr 5:20,21; as well as the inevitable ruin wicked men are brought into by it, Pr 5:22,23.