Proverbs 5

Introduction

Proverbs 5 is the first extended discourse in the book devoted entirely to the danger of sexual immorality and the corresponding blessing of marital faithfulness. The father-teacher addresses his son with an urgent call to wisdom (vv. 1-2) and then develops two contrasting portraits: the "forbidden woman" whose seductive speech is as sweet as fresh honeycomb but whose end is as bitter as wormwood and as deadly as a double-edged sword (vv. 3-6), and the "wife of your youth" whose love is likened to a private cistern, a flowing well, and a blessed fountain (vv. 15-19). Between these two portraits stands a vivid warning about the devastating consequences of adultery — the loss of strength, wealth, reputation, and health (vv. 7-14).

The chapter concludes with a theological grounding for the entire discussion: the LORD sees every path a person walks (vv. 21-23). The argument is not merely pragmatic ("adultery will ruin you") but theological ("God is watching"). The repeated use of שָׁגָה ("be captivated, go astray") in verses 19, 20, and 23 ties the chapter together — the same intoxication that belongs rightly within marriage becomes fatal folly when directed elsewhere. This chapter thus serves as both a cautionary tale and a celebration of the gift of conjugal love within covenant marriage.

The Forbidden Woman's Deadly Sweetness (vv. 1-6)

¹ My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight, ² that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. ³ Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, ⁴ in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol. ⁶ She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.

¹ My son, listen carefully to my wisdom; turn your ear to my understanding, ² so that you may hold on to good judgment, and your lips may guard knowledge. ³ For the lips of the forbidden woman drip fresh honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil, ⁴ but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. ⁵ Her feet descend to death; her steps take hold of Sheol. ⁶ She never weighs the path of life; her tracks wander, and she does not know it.

Notes

The opening appeal in vv. 1-2 follows the standard Proverbs pattern of the father summoning the son's attention before delivering instruction. The word מְזִמּוֹת ("discretion, good judgment") can carry either a positive sense (prudent planning) or a negative sense (scheming). Here it is clearly positive — the same faculty of careful thought that the forbidden woman perverts is the very faculty that will protect the son from her.

In v. 3, נֹפֶת refers specifically to honey that drips from the comb — the freshest, most desirable honey. This is a more vivid image than generic "honey"; it suggests something irresistibly sweet and naturally flowing. The parallel term חִכָּהּ ("her palate, her mouth") is rendered "speech" by the BSB, but literally refers to the roof of the mouth or the organ of taste, carrying connotations of both speech and kissing. The phrase זָרָה ("forbidden, strange") characterizes this woman as outside the covenant boundaries of marriage — whether a foreigner, another man's wife, or a prostitute, she is "other" in the sense that she has no rightful place in the son's intimate life.

The contrast between vv. 3 and 4 is devastating. לַעֲנָה ("wormwood") is the bitterest plant known in the ancient Near East, used elsewhere as a metaphor for divine judgment (Deuteronomy 29:18, Amos 5:7). The "double-edged sword" (חֶרֶב פִּיּוֹת, literally "sword of mouths") is a weapon that cuts on both sides — it destroys everything it touches. The teacher's point is that the forbidden woman's sweetness is a lie; her true nature is lethal.

Verse 6 is notoriously difficult in Hebrew. The subject of תְּפַלֵּס ("weigh, make level") could be either the woman ("she does not ponder the path of life") or the son being warned ("lest you ponder the path of life" — i.e., lest you examine her ways and be drawn in). Most translations take the woman as the subject, meaning she is so reckless that she never considers where her lifestyle leads. Her paths נָעוּ ("wander, totter") — they are unstable, shifting, without fixed moral direction, and she herself is unaware of it.

The Cost of Unfaithfulness (vv. 7-14)

⁷ So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth. ⁸ Keep your path far from her; do not go near the door of her house, ⁹ lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel; ¹⁰ lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner. ¹¹ At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent, ¹² and you will say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! ¹³ I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors. ¹⁴ I am on the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly."

⁷ So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not stray from the words of my mouth. ⁸ Keep your way far from her; do not go near the door of her house, ⁹ or you will give your strength to others and your years to a merciless one; ¹⁰ or strangers will gorge themselves on your wealth, and your hard-earned gains will end up in a foreigner's house. ¹¹ You will groan at the end of your life when your flesh and body are consumed, ¹² and you will say, "How I hated correction! How my heart scorned rebuke! ¹³ I did not listen to the voice of my teachers; I did not turn my ear to my instructors. ¹⁴ I was on the verge of complete ruin in the midst of the whole congregation."

Notes

The father shifts to direct practical counsel in v. 8: physical distance is the first line of defense. The advice is not "resist her when you meet her" but "do not go near her house." This is wisdom literature's version of fleeing temptation rather than fighting it — a principle Paul echoes in 1 Corinthians 6:18.

The consequences listed in vv. 9-14 progress from economic to physical to social. הוֹדֶךָ ("your vigor, your splendor") in v. 9 likely refers to the prime years of the young man's life — his strength, his reputation, his honor. The "cruel one" (אַכְזָרִי) may be the offended husband, a ruthless creditor, or even the adulteress herself. The term is deliberately vague, evoking a figure who will show no mercy.

In v. 11, וְנָהַמְתָּ ("you will groan") is a visceral word — it describes the groaning of a lion (Proverbs 28:15) or the roaring of the sea. This is not quiet regret but anguished, guttural mourning. The wasting of "flesh" (בָּשָׂר) and "body" (שְׁאֵר) may allude to sexually transmitted disease, but more broadly it paints a picture of total physical and emotional depletion.

The quoted speech in vv. 12-14 is a masterpiece of too-late regret. The speaker uses the same vocabulary of wisdom instruction — מוּסָר ("discipline, correction"), תּוֹכַחַת ("reproof, rebuke"), מוֹרַי ("my teachers") — that he once ignored. Verse 14 is the climax: "in the midst of the whole congregation" (קָהָל וְעֵדָה). This pairing of synonyms for "assembly" emphasizes the public nature of the disgrace. In ancient Israel, adultery was a community matter adjudicated publicly (Deuteronomy 22:22); the ruin is not private but exposed before everyone.

Rejoice in the Wife of Your Youth (vv. 15-20)

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well. ¹⁶ Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? ¹⁷ Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. ¹⁸ May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth: ¹⁹ A loving doe, a graceful fawn — may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever. ²⁰ Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. ¹⁶ Should your springs spill out into the streets, your streams of water into the public squares? ¹⁷ Let them be for you alone, not shared with strangers. ¹⁸ May your fountain be blessed, and may you find joy in the wife of your youth — ¹⁹ a doe of love, a graceful mountain goat. May her breasts satisfy you at all times; may you be ever intoxicated by her love. ²⁰ Why, my son, would you be intoxicated by a forbidden woman, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?

Notes

This is one of the most beautiful celebrations of marital love in the Old Testament. The extended water metaphor in vv. 15-18 draws on the fact that in the arid Near East, water was life's most precious commodity. A בּוֹר ("cistern") collected and stored rainwater; a בְּאֵר ("well") tapped underground springs. Together they represent a reliable, personal source of refreshment. The metaphor is explicitly sexual — "water" represents sexual pleasure and intimacy, and "your own cistern" means your own wife. The Song of Solomon uses identical imagery (Song of Solomon 4:12-15).

Verse 16 is debated. It could be a rhetorical question expecting the answer "No!" — meaning, "You should not let your sexual energies be dispersed publicly." Alternatively, it could be read as a consequence of faithfulness: "Let your springs overflow" — that is, may you have many children who fill the streets. Most commentators favor the rhetorical question reading, which fits the context of exclusivity in v. 17.

מְקוֹרְךָ ("your fountain") in v. 18 continues the water imagery and can refer either to the man's own sexual vitality or, more likely, to his wife as the source of legitimate pleasure. "Blessed" (בָרוּךְ) elevates the marriage bed to something that God himself approves and enriches.

The animal imagery in v. 19 is striking. אַיֶּלֶת אֲהָבִים ("doe of love") and יַעֲלַת חֵן ("graceful mountain goat") evoke beauty, elegance, and tenderness — qualities the husband is to see in his wife. The Hebrew יַעֲלָה is actually an ibex or mountain goat, a creature known for its sure-footed grace on rocky terrain. The frankness of "may her breasts satisfy you" (דַּדֶּיהָ יְרַוֻּךָ) is remarkable — the verb means "drench, saturate" — and reflects the Bible's unembarrassed affirmation of physical pleasure within marriage.

The key word tying this section to the rest of the chapter is שָׁגָה ("be captivated, intoxicated, go astray"), used in both v. 19 and v. 20. In v. 19 it is positive: "may you be ever intoxicated by her love." In v. 20 the same word turns into an accusation: "Why would you be intoxicated by a forbidden woman?" The wordplay is deliberate — the same capacity for passionate abandon that God designed for marriage becomes self-destructive folly when it wanders outside that covenant. This double use is echoed again in v. 23, where the fool "goes astray" by his own great folly.

God Sees All (vv. 21-23)

²¹ For a man's ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths. ²² The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him. ²³ He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.

²¹ For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he weighs all his paths. ²² A wicked man's own iniquities capture him; he is held fast by the ropes of his sin. ²³ He will die for want of discipline, and by the greatness of his folly he will go astray.

Notes

The chapter's conclusion lifts the discussion from pragmatic consequences to theological reality. נֹכַח עֵינֵי יְהוָה ("before the eyes of the LORD") means that nothing is hidden — not the secret rendezvous, not the rationalizations, not the private thoughts. The verb מְפַלֵּס ("examines, weighs, makes level") is the same root used in v. 6 of the forbidden woman who "does not weigh the path of life." The irony is pointed: she refuses to evaluate her own path, but the LORD evaluates every person's path with perfect precision.

Verse 22 uses vivid imagery of entrapment. The sinner is not caught by an external avenger but by his own עֲווֹנוֹתָיו ("iniquities") and חַבְלֵי חַטָּאתוֹ ("cords of his sin"). Sin is self-ensnaring — it creates its own prison. The word חֲבָלִים ("cords, ropes") can also mean "birth pangs," adding a grim overtone: sin brings forth its own painful consequences (James 1:15).

The final verse brings the chapter full circle with שָׁגָה appearing for the third time. In v. 19 it was the blessed intoxication of marital love; in v. 20 it was the foolish intoxication of adultery; here in v. 23 it is the fatal wandering of the undisciplined life. The man who refused מוּסָר ("discipline") — the same word the regretful speaker despised in v. 12 — dies precisely because of that refusal. Wisdom literature consistently teaches that the consequences of sin are not arbitrary divine punishments but the natural, built-in results of moral foolishness, observed and upheld by a God who sees everything.