TENDING YOUR OWN GARDEN
Opening Prayer
Use your Word, Lord God, to keep my walk of faith one that is focused on you and unwavering.
Read PROVERBS 5
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Warning Against Adultery
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
turn your ear to my words of insight,
2 that you may maintain discretion
and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,
sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.
6 She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.
7 Now then, my sons, listen to me;
do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her,
do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you lose your honor to others
and your dignity[a] to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich the house of another.
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!
13 I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble
in the assembly of God’s people.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow 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 deer—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
21 For your ways are in full view of the Lord,
and he examines all your paths.
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;
the cords of their sins hold them fast.
23 For lack of discipline they will die,
led astray by their own great folly.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:9 Or years
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
With you, O Lord, is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.1
There are numerous passages in Proverbs 1–9 that deal with the ‘adulterous woman’ (NIV), ‘the loose woman’ (NRSV), or the ‘forbidden woman’ (NJPS). This isha zara (Hebrew) is an imagined character, or caricature, of whom the young male addressee of Proverbs 1–9 is taught to be wary. This should not, of course, be taken to suggest that women are to be blamed for the sexual misdeeds of men.
Elsewhere, Proverbs presents a more positive portrayal of women than the isha zara passages. Indeed, Wisdom itself, the main positive concept of the book, is expressed in grammatically feminine forms and is personified as a woman in the lengthy treatise of chapter 8 and the first few verses of chapter 9. The book also allocates to mothers an important role in the education of the next generation. Furthermore, Proverbs 31 portrays the ‘wife of noble character’ as an astute and accomplished leading figure.
Do Proverbs 5 and the other passages featuring the adulterous woman have anything to say to men, women, or youths who might read it today? Of course they do! It is undeniable that illicit sexual encounters continue to attract both men and women and that sexual temptation continues to exercise a strong force in our world today. Proverbs 5 offers at least two approaches for countering such sexual temptation. First, it exhorts the reader to think about the longer-term outcome of illicit momentary pleasures. Then, it promotes paying attention to one’s own home, family, relationships, and soul, with the intention that each of us might foster a quality of well-being from which we are unlikely to stray.
Apply
Does your manner of life promote health and well-being for yourself and your loved ones? If not, reflect on the changes you need to make.
Closing prayer
Thank you, Father, that your path set for me is for my good and the good of others. Help me to follow it with loving care and purity—with faithfulness to your Word.
1 See Ps 36:9
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.