The big picture
Proverbs 5 opens in verse 1 with “My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:”, reaches its middle movement near verse 12 with “And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;”, and closes in verse 23 with “He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” Repeated or prominent terms include Lest, waters, house, instruction, lips. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Proverbs · King James Version · 23Proverbs 5:1-8
1–8: My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
Proverbs 5:1–8 opens with “My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:” and reaches “Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Proverbs 5 develops its own movement around Lest, waters, house, instruction, lips, with particular weight carried by lips, mouth, attend.
Context that brings the passage to life
“My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:” The line’s distinctive content terms include attend, understanding, wisdom. Its relationship to verses 2 shows what work it does in this passage.
Proverbs 5:1-8
King James Version1My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
2That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
4But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
5Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
6Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
7Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
8Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
Proverbs 5:9-16
9–16: Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
Proverbs 5:9–16 opens with “Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:” and reaches “Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Proverbs 5 develops its own movement around Lest, waters, house, instruction, lips, with particular weight carried by waters, Lest, abroad.
Context that brings the passage to life
“Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:” Naming Lest keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
Proverbs 5:9-16
King James Version9Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
10Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
11And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
13And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
15Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
16Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
Proverbs 5:17-23
17–23: Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
Proverbs 5:17–23 opens with “Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.” and reaches “He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Proverbs 5 develops its own movement around Lest, waters, house, instruction, lips, with particular weight carried by ravished, always, astray.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.” The line’s distinctive content terms include strangers. Its relationship to verses 18 shows what work it does in this passage.
Proverbs 5:17-23
King James Version17Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
18Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
19Let 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.
20And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD , and he pondereth all his goings.
22His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
23He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Proverbs 5:1 begins with “My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:”
Where the chapter turns
Proverbs 5:4 forms a natural hinge: “But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.”
The final note
Proverbs 5:23 leaves the reader with “He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words Lest, waters, house, instruction, lips, mouth help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
What does the repeated ending make readers feel?
Death becomes the chapter's persistent refrain, even as generation follows generation.
What two interruptions offer hope?
Enoch's walk with God and Lamech's hope attached to Noah.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
- lest
- so that something does not happen
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.