Proverbs 5:1–8
A father warns his son against the foreign woman: what is sweet now ends bitter
Study it word by word1My son, to my wisdom be attentive; to my insight incline your ear,
2to keep discretion, and that your lips may guard knowledge.
3For the lips of the strange woman drip honey from the comb, and smoother than oil is her palate;
4but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a sword with two edges.
5Her feet go down to death; to Sheol her steps hold fast.
6The path of life she does not level; her tracks wander, and she does not know it.
7And now, sons, listen to me, and do not turn away from the sayings of my mouth.
8Keep your way far from her, and do not come near to the door of her house;
In its context
…
9lest you give to others your splendor, and your years to the cruel one;
10lest strangers be filled with your strength, and your toil go to the house of a foreigner;
Its words in the original
- בְּנִbeni· son
Son. In the plural it can include sons and daughters, and also grandsons and descendants. "Son of..." also says what group someone belongs to ("sons of Israel" = Israelites).
- חָכְמָתִchachmati· wisdom, skill
Wisdom: knowing how to live and act well; also the skill of a good craftsman.
- הַקְשִׁיבָhakshiva· pay attention, listen
To pay attention, to listen carefully, to prick up the ears. It is more than hearing: it is heeding what is said.
- תְבוּנָתִtevunati· understanding
Understanding: the ability to understand and to find the right way.
- הַטhat· stretch out, turn aside
Stretch out, spread; pitch a tent. Also bend, incline; turn aside, pervert (justice).
- אָזְנֶazne· ear
Ear. "Speak in someone's ears" is to tell him something directly.
- שְׁמֹרshemor· keep, guard
Keep: watch over, guard, protect; also keep a command or a covenant, observe.
- מְזִמּוֹתmezimot· plan, scheme, discretion
A plan, a thought-out purpose; often an evil plan, a plot; sometimes good judgment.
- דַעַתdaat· knowledge
Knowledge: knowing something, and also knowing it by experience.
- שְׂפָתֶיsefate· lip, language, edge
Lip. From there, the way of speaking: speech or language. Also the shore or edge of something.
- יִנְצֹרוּyintsoru· keep, guard
Keep, watch over, preserve.
- נֹפֶתnofet· dripping honey
Honey that drips, the purest, as it comes from the comb.
- תִּטֹּפְנָהtitofna· drip, drop
Drip, drop: fall drop by drop. Figuratively, speak a message (Micah 2:6).
- זָרָהzara· strange, outsider
Be strange or foreign; the one who does not belong to the group (the family, the priesthood, the people).
- חָלָקchalak· smooth
Smooth, hairless; of speech, flattering.
- שֶּׁמֶןshemen· oil
Olive oil. It was used for food, light, and perfume, and also to consecrate something or someone to God (anoint).
- חִכָּchika· palate, mouth
The palate, the inside of the mouth; the mouth as the organ of taste and of speech.
- אַחֲרִיתָacharita· end, future
What comes after: the end, the future; also posterity.
- מָרָהmara· bitter
Bitter; bitterness; bitterly.
- לַּעֲנָהlaana· wormwood
Wormwood: a very bitter plant; an image of what ends in bitterness.
- חַדָּהchada· sharp
Sharp, cutting; said of a sword.
- חֶרֶבcherev· sword
Sword; also any tool with an edge, like a knife or a chisel.
- פִּיּוֹתpiyot· mouth
Mouth. Also what someone says or commands ("by the mouth of" = by the word of); the edge of a sword; "according to".
- רַגְלֶיragle· foot
Foot; the foot of an animal; also a step.
- יֹרְדוֹתyordot· go down, bring down
Go down, come down, descend. In the causative form, bring down, take down. Going from Canaan to Egypt is "going down".
- מָוֶתmavet· death
Death; also the realm of the dead, or a deadly plague.
- שְׁאוֹלsheol· Sheol
Sheol: in the Old Testament, the place of the dead, the grave, where all go down at death.
- צְעָדֶיtseade· step
A step: each movement of the foot in walking.
- יִתְמֹכוּyitmochu· hold fast, grasp
Hold, grasp with the hand; take hold, support.
- אֹרַחorach· path, way
Way, path; one's usual manner. "The way of women" is menstruation. Also a caravan.
- חַיִּיםchayim· living, animal, life
Living, alive; also fresh (of water). As a noun, "living thing" or "animal" (above all wild animals); in the plural, "life".
- תְּפַלֵּסtefales· make level; weigh
To make a path level; also to weigh, to consider something carefully, as on a scale.
- נָעוּnau· wander, stagger
Move to and fro, stagger, wander; shake.
- מַעְגְּלֹתֶיmaglote· track, encampment
Track or path marked by wheels; also the ring around a camp, perhaps formed by the wagons.
- תֵדָעteda· know
Know. Not only having a fact: it is knowing by experience and closely; also recognize, care for, make known. So Hebrew also uses it for the intimate union of a man and his wife ("he knew his wife").
- שִׁמְעוּshimu· hear, listen, obey
Hear, listen. In the Bible listening truly includes paying heed; so it often means "obey". In the causative form, make heard, proclaim.
- תָּסוּרוּtasuru· turn aside, remove
Turn aside, turn away; remove, take away.
- אִמְרֵיimre· words, sayings
Words, sayings. In Genesis 49:21, some read "fawns".
- הַרְחֵקharchek· be far
Be far, go far away; in the causative form, remove far away.
- דַרְכֶּdarke· way
Way, road, journey. Figuratively, the way one lives or acts.
- תִּקְרַבtikrav· come near, bring near
Come near, approach. In the causative form, bring near, present an offering.
- פֶּתַחpetach· entrance, door
Entrance, doorway, door, opening.
- בֵּיתָbeta· house, household
House. Also the family that lives in it ("the house of Noah") and someone's descendants ("the house of David"); also a temple, "the house of God".