Proverbs 5

²Think before you act, and say only what is wise and good.

³Some people's words are as sweet as honey and as smooth as oil — they sound so good at first.

⁴But the ending is bitter and painful — like swallowing something horribly sour, or a blade that cuts both ways.

⁵The path of going the wrong way leads downward — away from life, away from God.

⁶Wrong ways are shifting and hard to pin down — they keep moving so you cannot quite see where they lead. That is how they trap people.

⁷Children, listen to me right now. Do not go away from the words I am telling you.

⁸Stay far away from the wrong path. Do not even go near the place where wrong things happen.

⁹Otherwise you might give your good name and your precious years of life to people who are cruel and do not care about you.

¹⁰Otherwise everything you work hard for might end up going to strangers who do not deserve it.

¹¹And in the end, you will grieve — when all the wrong choices have worn you out and caused you deep sorrow.

¹²And you will say: 'Why did I hate being taught? Why did my heart push away correction?'

¹³And you will cry: 'I did not listen to my teachers! I did not lean my ear toward those who were trying to help me!'

¹⁴Ignoring wisdom almost led me into every kind of wrong — right in front of everyone.

¹⁵Be satisfied with what God has given you. Drink from the good things right in your own home.

¹⁶Let the blessings from your home overflow — let goodness flow out to others around you.

¹⁷What is most precious in your home — your family and their love — is yours. Guard it and keep it close.

¹⁸God wants families to be full of joy. Be happy with the family He gives you, and keep your promises to them.

¹⁹God wants families to be filled with tenderness, closeness, and love — always satisfied in one another and faithful to each other.

²⁰Why would you go looking for love in wrong places when God has given you a family to love? Stay loyal to those God has given you.

²¹God sees every step you take. He watches over your whole life and knows everything you do.

²²When people keep doing wrong, they get trapped — like a knot that ties itself tighter and tighter.

²³Those who refuse to be taught will go astray — their own foolishness will lead them far from the right path.