Proverbs 5

Leia este capítulo com intenção

Proverbs 5 is a father's warning to his son about adultery, and a celebration of marriage. The forbidden woman's lips drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, but she ends bitter as wormwood, and her steps go down to death. The father describes the price in detail: strength given to others, wealth to strangers, years to the cruel, and at the end a groan of regret in front of the whole assembly, "How I hated discipline." Then the tone changes. Drink water from your own cistern. Rejoice in the wife of your youth, be captivated by her love always. The chapter closes by reminding the son that his ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and that a man is caught in the cords of his own sin.

Abrir comentário do capítulo

Proverbs 5 is a father talking to his son about sex, and it is remarkable for how honest it is. He does not pretend the other woman is unattractive. Her lips drip honey; her speech is smoother than oil. That is exactly why he is worried. What he wants his son to see is the end of the road rather than the beginning: wormwood, a sword, steps that go down to death. He describes the cost with an accountant's precision, your strength spent on others, your money in strangers' houses, your years handed to someone cruel, and then he does something the book of Proverbs rarely does. He writes the son's own future speech for him, the words of an old man groaning at the end of a wasted life: how I hated discipline, how I ignored my teachers, and now I am ruined in front of everyone. Then the chapter turns and becomes a love poem. Drink from your own cistern. Let your fountain be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth, a loving doe, and be captivated by her love always. The father's cure for adultery is not suspicion of desire but desire aimed at home. The last three verses lift the whole thing into the light of God: every path a man takes is in front of the LORD's eyes, and the sinner is not caught by God's trap but by the cords of his own making. He dies, the chapter says, for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.

Passagens-chave

Proverbs 5:3-6 Proverbs 5:11-14 Proverbs 5:15-19 Proverbs 5:21-23 Proverbs 7:6-27 Song of Solomon 4:9-12

Historical and literary context

Chapters 1 to 9 of Proverbs are a set of speeches from a father, and sometimes a mother, to a young man on the threshold of adult life, in the style of Egyptian and Mesopotamian instruction literature used to train future officials. This is the first of three extended warnings about the "strange" or forbidden woman, followed by 6:20 to 35 and chapter 7. In ancient Israel adultery was a capital offense and, when it was not punished by death, could cost a man his property in compensation to the wronged husband, which is what verses 9 and 10 describe. The cistern and well of verses 15 to 18 draw on the value of private water in a dry land, and the language of the doe and the fawn belongs to the love poetry of the Song of Songs.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 and 2 call the son to attention. Verses 3 to 6 describe the forbidden woman, honey on the lips, wormwood at the end, feet going down to death. Verses 7 to 14 spell out the consequences of going near her house: lost vigor, lost wealth, lost years, and the deathbed lament of a man who refused instruction. Verses 15 to 20 turn to marriage under the image of one's own cistern and well, with the blessing on the wife of one's youth and the question why a man would embrace a stranger instead. Verses 21 to 23 close with the LORD who sees every path and the sinner trapped in his own cords.

Why this chapter matters

The chapter is the Bible's most direct piece of practical advice on sexual fidelity, and its method is telling: it does not argue that desire is bad but that it should be directed home. "Rejoice in the wife of your youth" and "may you be captivated by her love forever" are among the warmest lines about married love in Scripture and refute the idea that the Bible is prudish. The picture of the man at the end of his life saying "How I hated discipline" has been the pattern for every sermon on the long-term cost of short-term pleasure. Verse 21, "a man's ways are before the eyes of the LORD," gives the whole chapter its weight.

Interpretive tension to watch

The speech is addressed to a son about a woman, as all of Proverbs 1 to 9 is, and readers must decide how to hear it as women, or about men who seduce; the principle plainly runs both ways. Who the "forbidden woman" is has been debated: another man's wife, a foreigner, a prostitute, or, in the wider book, folly itself personified against Lady Wisdom. Verses 9 and 10 describe economic ruin whose exact mechanism is unclear. And the chapter's frankness about physical delight in verse 19 has embarrassed translators and preachers who would rather it were more spiritual than it is.

Perguntas para este capítulo

The forbidden woman's words are sweet at the start and bitter at the end. What temptations look like that in your own life?
The chapter answers adultery not with a prohibition alone but with delight in one's own marriage. Why is that a better defense?
Verse 22 says a man is held by the cords of his own sin. How does a choice become a trap?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

Adicionar às notas

1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen carefully as I explain what makes sense, 2 so you can make good decisions and protect knowledge with your lips. 3 For the lips of an immoral woman may taste as sweet as honey, the kisses of her mouth may be as smooth as oil, 4 but in the end what you get from her is the bitterness of wormwood and the sharp pain of being cut with a two-edged sword. 5 She leads you down to death; she takes you down to the grave. 6 She doesn't follow the path that leads to life—she wanders away and doesn't even know she's lost. 7 Now, my son, listen to me; don't reject what I have taught you. 8 Stay far away from her! Don't go near the door of her house! 9 Otherwise you'll surrender your honor to others, and your character to cruel people. 10 Strangers will spend your wealth; everything you've worked for will go to someone else. 11 When you come to the end of your life you'll moan in pain as disease destroys your body. 12 You'll say, “How I used to hate discipline, and my mind rebelled against being corrected! 13 I didn't listen to what my teacher said. I didn't pay attention to my instructors. 14 Now I'm on the verge of being completely disgraced before everyone in the community.” 15 Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. 16 Why should your springs be spilled outside, your streams of water poured out in the streets? 17 Keep them for yourselves alone. They're not for you to share with strangers. 18 May your spring of water be blessed, and may you enjoy the wife you married when you were young. 19 May she be to you a loving deer, a graceful doe. May her breasts always be intoxicating to you; may you be drunk on her love forever. 20 Why, my son, become intoxicated with an immoral woman? Why embrace the breasts of a woman who acts like a prostitute? 21 For the Lord sees everything people do, the Lord investigates everywhere they go. 22 The wicked are trapped by their evil actions; the cords of their sins tie them up. 23 They will die because they lack self-control, lost because of their great stupidity.

Transforme leitura em estudo de verdade

Cadastre-se para salvar versículos, fazer anotações e estudar com ferramentas de IA.

Cadastrar Entrar

Escolha seu próximo passo após este capítulo Continue lendo, escolha um plano ou continue estudando com AI.

Ler o próximo capítulo Proverbs 6 in Free Bible Version.

Planos de leitura

Escolha um plano se quiser transformar este capítulo em um hábito repetível.

Pergunte à IA sobre este capítulo

Continue com o estudo de AI se o texto levantar questões ou pressionar mais fundo que uma leitura.

Siga os temas que este capítulo abre Hubs de tópicos relacionados para as questões maiores que este capítulo pode ter aberto.

Navegar por todos os tópicos