Warning Against Adultery and a Call to Fidelity
Proverbs 5:1-23
Pro.5.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- לחכמתי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,poss1s
- הקשיבה: VERB,hiph,impv,2,_,sg
- לתבונתי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,poss1s
- הט: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- אזנך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 4:1 (verbal): Begins with a parental summons ('Hear, O children' / 'My son') and calls for receiving instruction and understanding—closely mirrors the imperative to attend to wisdom.
- Proverbs 1:8 (verbal): Opens with 'My son, hear the instruction of thy father,' using the same vocative and imperative structure to urge obedience to parental/wisdom instruction.
- Proverbs 2:1-2 (verbal): Speaks of receiving words and inclining the ear to wisdom/understanding—shares the specific motif of 'incline/attend your ear' to gain understanding.
- Proverbs 3:1 (thematic): Another paternal exhortation ('My son, forget not my law') that develops the theme of a parent urging the child to keep and value wisdom.
- Proverbs 8:32 (allusion): Wisdom personified addresses 'my children' and calls for listening—parallels the speaker's authoritative summons to heed wisdom, linking parental speech with Wisdom's voice.
Alternative generated candidates
- My sons, give ear to my wisdom; pay attention to my understanding.
- My sons, attend to my wisdom; give ear to my understanding.
Pro.5.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לשמר: VERB,qal,inf
- מזמות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ודעת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שפתיך: NOUN,f,sg,cs+2ms
- ינצרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Proverbs 2:11 (verbal): Uses the same vocabulary and idea—'discretion shall preserve thee'/'understanding shall keep thee'—echoing the exhortation to retain discretion that preserves the hearer.
- Proverbs 4:5-6 (thematic): Exhorts the pursuit and retention of wisdom ('Get wisdom... Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee'), paralleling the call to keep discretion so that lips preserve knowledge.
- Proverbs 7:4 (thematic): Speaks of keeping parental sayings to protect from the 'strange woman'; parallels Prov.5's concern that retained instruction/discretion will preserve one from seduction and folly.
- Proverbs 1:5 (thematic): Encourages the wise to listen and increase learning ('A wise man will hear... and will increase learning'), corresponding to Prov.5.2's emphasis on preserving knowledge in speech and conduct.
Alternative generated candidates
- That you may keep discretion, and that your lips may guard knowledge.
- To keep discretion—let knowledge guard your lips.
Pro.5.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- נפת: NOUN,f,sg,constr
- תטפנה: VERB,qal,imperf,3,f,sg
- שפתי: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- זרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- וחלק: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- משמן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חכה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 7:21 (verbal): Describes the seductress using persuasive/flattering lips—close verbal parallel to 'lips drip honey' and smooth speech in Prov 5:3.
- Proverbs 2:16-19 (thematic): Warns against the adulterous woman who entices with words and leads to loss of life—echoes the theme of seductive speech and its deadly consequences.
- Proverbs 22:14 (structural): Contrasts the alluring mouth of a strange woman with a 'deep pit,' paralleling Prov 5:3’s sweet imagery but highlighting the hidden danger behind seductive speech.
- Proverbs 6:24-26 (thematic): Advises avoidance of the forbidden woman and warns against yielding to her beauty and words—matches Prov 5:3’s concern with seductive speech and moral danger.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the lips of a strange woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil;
- For the lips of a strange woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil;
Pro.5.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואחריתה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs+prn:3fs
- מרה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כלענה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חדה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כחרב: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- פיות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Lamentations 3:15 (verbal): Uses the same pair of images—bitter and wormwood—to describe a person's bitter fate/suffering, echoing 'bitter as wormwood.'
- Deuteronomy 29:18 (thematic): Warns that a corrupt root will be 'bitter'/'wormwood'-like in its consequence; parallels the motif of a bitter end for the unfaithful.
- Hebrews 4:12 (verbal): Terminology echoes the proverb's simile: 'sharper than any two-edged sword,' applying the two-edged-sword image to the divine word.
- Revelation 1:16 (allusion): Presents a sharp double-edged sword proceeding from the mouth (of Christ), an expanded apocalyptic use of the 'two-edged sword' imagery found in Proverbs 5:4.
Alternative generated candidates
- but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
- but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
Pro.5.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- רגליה: NOUN,f,pl,suff
- ירדות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מות: VERB,qal,infabs
- שאול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צעדיה: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3fs
- יתמכו: VERB,hitp,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Prov.7:27 (verbal): Nearly identical imagery: the seductress’ house is described as a descent to Sheol/chambers of death—same warning formula about feet/paths leading to death.
- Prov.2:18 (verbal): Uses the same language about her house leading down to death and her paths to the dead, echoing the fatal outcome of following an adulterous woman.
- Prov.9:18 (thematic): Speaks of the dead being in the house of Wisdom’s false counterpart (the woman of folly), portraying the fate of her guests as dwelling in Sheol—parallel theme of death as the end of succumbing to folly.
- Prov.6:32 (thematic): States that adultery destroys the one who commits it—the moral consequence (self-destruction/death) parallels Prov 5:5’s image of steps leading to death.
Alternative generated candidates
- Her feet go down to death; her steps reach to Sheol;
- Her feet go down to death; her steps lead to Sheol.
Pro.5.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חיים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- פן: CONJ
- תפלס: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- נעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מעגלתיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs+suff3f
- לא: PART_NEG
- תדע: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 7:27 (verbal): Nearly identical diction—’her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death’—applies same warning about the adulterous woman.
- Proverbs 2:18 (verbal): Uses the same motif—‘her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead’—warning against the seductive woman whose way leads to death.
- Proverbs 5:5 (structural): Immediate context: the preceding verse describes her feet/steps going down to death, forming a direct couplet with 5:6 about her course toward Sheol.
- Proverbs 9:18 (thematic): Speaks of those who accept Folly’s invitation as being in the depths of Sheol—parallel theme of a seductive house as a gateway to death.
- Psalm 49:14 (thematic): Imagery of the grave/Sheol as the appointed end of the wicked (‘like sheep they are appointed for Sheol’) echoes the motif of paths leading to death.
Alternative generated candidates
- she has not considered the path of life; her ways wander— you do not know them.
- Keep to the path of life; do not stray into her ways—you do not know where they lead.
Pro.5.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועתה: CONJ
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תסורו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- מאמרי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- פי: NOUN,m,sg,construct
Parallels
- Prov.4.1 (verbal): Same parental summons—"Hear, O children/the sons"—calling descendants to receive a father's instruction, closely echoing the imperative to listen.
- Prov.1.8 (verbal): Directly parallels the formula "Hear, my son," urging the child to heed the father's words and instruction.
- Prov.6.20 (verbal): Similar admonition to retain parental teaching—"keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not..."—matching the theme and language of not departing from spoken instruction.
- Josh.1.8 (verbal): Uses near-identical imagery of words not departing from the mouth/heart and the need to hold fast to a body of instruction, echoing the prohibition against turning away from spoken counsel.
- Deut.6.6-7 (thematic): Commands that words be kept in the heart and passed on to children—a formative intergenerational exhortation like the call for sons to hear and not turn from the father's words.
Alternative generated candidates
- Now therefore, my sons, listen to me; do not depart from the words of my mouth.
- And now, my sons, hear me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
Pro.5.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הרחק: ADV
- מעליה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- דרכך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תקרב: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- פתח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ביתה: NOUN,m,sg,suff-3,f,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 5:1-6 (structural): Immediate context: the wider exhortation to heed wisdom and avoid the adulterous woman. Verses 1–6 develop the same warning and give the reasons for staying away from her house.
- Proverbs 6:24-26 (verbal): A parallel warning against the 'strange' or 'evil' woman with similar imperatives to avoid her and the consequences of yielding to her, using language about guarding and keeping clear of sexual enticement.
- Proverbs 7:6-27 (thematic): A narrative illustration of the danger described in 5:8: a young man seduced after approaching an adulterous woman's house. The passage dramatizes why one must not go near her door.
- Proverbs 2:16-19 (thematic): Speaks of deliverance from the adulterous woman and the ruin she brings—parallel theme of staying away to preserve life and integrity.
- 1 Corinthians 6:18 (verbal): Paul's admonition 'Flee sexual immorality' echoes the directive to 'keep far from her'—both use flight/avoidance language to counsel separation from sexual sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- Keep your way far from her, and do not come near the door of her house;
- Keep far from her, and do not come near the doorway of her house;
Pro.5.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פן: CONJ
- תתן: VERB,qal,imprf,2,_,sg
- לאחרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הודך: NOUN,m,sg,pr2ms
- ושנתיך: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs+2ms
- לאכזרי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 2:16-19 (thematic): Warns that the strange/adulterous woman leads to death and the loss of life’s good things—parallel theme of yielding one’s honor and years to another.
- Proverbs 7:23-27 (thematic): Narrative depiction of a seduced man ruined and slain by the adulteress; echoes the consequence language of loss, reproach, and death in Prov 5:9.
- Proverbs 6:32-35 (verbal): Declares adultery destroys the sinner and brings lasting reproach (v.33 ‘‘his reproach shall not be blotted out’’), closely paralleling the idea of giving one’s honor to others.
- Proverbs 23:27-28 (thematic): Describes the harlot as a deep pit and the enticed as ensnared—similar warning that association with the adulteress results in ruin of reputation and life.
Alternative generated candidates
- lest you give your honor to others and your years to a cruel one;
- lest you give your honor to others and your years to a cruel one;
Pro.5.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פן: CONJ
- ישבעו: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,pl
- זרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כחך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- ועצביך: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs+2ms
- בבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- נכרי: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 5:9-11 (structural): Immediate context: the same admonition that indulgence with a foreign/strange woman will bring loss—house filled with mourning, life shortened, wealth spent by others.
- Proverbs 6:26 (thematic): Parallel consequence language: sexual misconduct (harlotry/adultery) leads a person to poverty or the loss of sustenance—foretelling that one’s resources are consumed by others.
- Proverbs 7:21-23 (thematic): Description of seduction leading the victim away to ruin; like 5:10 it depicts being led into a situation that results in loss of life and goods to others.
- Proverbs 23:27-28 (thematic): The strange/wicked woman is portrayed as a trap/prey that brings men into transgression and loss—echoing the warning that yielding leads to others’ benefit and personal ruin.
- Ecclesiastes 2:21-22 (thematic): Reflects the outcome of labor producing wealth that a person does not enjoy—one’s toil ends up benefiting others, echoing ‘your labors in the house of a foreigner.’
Alternative generated candidates
- lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors lie in the house of a foreigner.
- lest strangers feast on your strength and your labors be for the house of a foreigner.
Pro.5.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונהמת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- באחריתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,poss2ms
- בכלות: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בשרך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m
- ושארך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 6:27-29 (verbal): Uses bodily imagery (taking fire into the bosom / being burned) to signal inevitable physical harm from illicit sexual behaviour—parallels the idea of the body being consumed and groaning at the end.
- Proverbs 6:32-35 (thematic): Explicit warning about adultery’s disastrous personal and social consequences (shame, loss, enforced payment), thematically matching the regret and ruin voiced in Prov. 5:11.
- Proverbs 7:23-27 (structural): Narrative depiction of the seduced man's end—her house leads down to Sheol and death—closely parallels Prov. 5:11’s motif of ruin and bodily destruction as the outcome of sexual folly.
- Psalm 73:18-19 (thematic): Speaks of the sudden downfall and destruction of the wicked and the shock/regret at their end; thematically parallels the lament/groaning over one’s consumed body in Prov. 5:11.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you groan in your latter end, when your flesh and body are consumed,
- Then you will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and body are consumed,
Pro.5.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמרת: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- איך: ADV
- שנאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- מוסר: NOUN,m,sg,const
- ותוכחת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נאץ: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
Parallels
- Prov. 1:25 (verbal): Uses similar language about rejecting counsel and spurning reproof—both portray an attitude of refusing instruction that leads to ruin.
- Prov. 12:1 (thematic): Contrasts love of instruction with hatred of correction; echoes the moral evaluation of one who despises reproof.
- Prov. 13:18 (thematic): Connects refusal of discipline with negative consequences (poverty/shame), paralleling the immediate moral failure in Prov. 5:12.
- Prov. 15:5 (thematic): Also condemns despising parental/instructive correction and affirms that heeding reproof is wise—same contrast between folly and prudence.
Alternative generated candidates
- and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!”
- and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!”
Pro.5.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולא: CONJ
- שמעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- בקול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מורי: NOUN,m,sg,suff
- ולמלמדי: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,suff
- לא: PART_NEG
- הטיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- אזני: NOUN,f,pl,suff
Parallels
- Proverbs 1:25 (allusion): Wisdom laments being ignored—'you rejected my counsel' parallels the speaker's confession that he did not listen to his teacher.
- Proverbs 13:1 (verbal): Contrasts a 'wise son' who hears his father's instruction with one who does not; echoes the language of hearing/refusing instruction.
- Proverbs 15:5 (thematic): States that a fool despises his father's instruction—themewise parallel to failing to heed a teacher or instructor.
- Proverbs 19:20 (thematic): 'Hear counsel and receive instruction' presents the positive obligation the speaker here admits he failed to fulfill.
Alternative generated candidates
- I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to those who taught me;
- I did not listen to the voice of my teacher; I did not incline my ear to my instructor;
Pro.5.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כמעט: ADV
- הייתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- בתוך: PREP
- קהל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועדה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 73:2-3 (verbal): Uses near-language of nearly slipping/stumbling (“my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped”) to describe a close brush with moral or existential failure, paralleling Proverbs' 'I was almost in all evil.'
- Psalm 26:5 (thematic): Speaks of the assembly/congregation of evildoers and refusing to sit with the wicked—thematises the danger or impropriety of being part of a corrupt assembly, echoing Proverbs' concern about being among the multitude/assembly in wrongdoing.
- Psalm 1:5 (structural): Contrasts the fate of the wicked in the 'congregation' (assembly) of the righteous; shares the social-judicial notion of standing or being placed within a congregation as morally determinative, resonant with Proverbs' mention of 'kahal va-ʿedah' (congregation and assembly).
- Psalm 40:12 (thematic): Describes being hemmed in by 'innumerable evils' and sins taking hold—thematises the sense of being overwhelmed or nearly overtaken by wrongdoing, similar to Proverbs' admission of having been nearly involved in all evil among the crowd.
Alternative generated candidates
- I was at the brink of every evil, in the midst of the assembly and the congregation.
- I was nearly in every evil, among the throng and in the assembly.
Pro.5.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שתה: VERB,qal,impv,2,sg
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מבורך: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ונזלים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מתוך: PREP
- בארך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 4:12-15 (thematic): Uses garden/fountain/well imagery to portray the beloved as a private source of refreshing—paralleling the call to drink from one’s own cistern (marital fidelity).
- Proverbs 5:18-19 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same chapter: bless your fountain and rejoice with the wife of your youth, echoing the water/fountain metaphor for faithfulness to one’s spouse.
- Jeremiah 2:13 (allusion): Speaks of forsaking the LORD as ‘breaking cisterns that hold no water’—a contrasting use of cistern/water imagery to warn against seeking life’s source elsewhere.
- John 4:13-14 (allusion): Jesus’ ‘living water’ discourse with the Samaritan woman uses well/water symbolism for true, sustaining source—resonant with biblical well/cistern imagery of satisfaction and fidelity.
- Proverbs 6:32-35 (thematic): Warning about adultery and its consequences, thematically linked to the exhortation to remain faithful to one’s own spouse (the ‘own cistern’ motif).
Alternative generated candidates
- Drink water from your own cistern, and flowing water from your own well.
- Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.
Pro.5.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יפוצו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- מעינתיך: NOUN,f,pl,cs,suff,2,m,sg
- חוצה: ADV
- ברחבות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- פלגי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 5:15 (verbal): Immediate verbal parallel and antecedent: 5:15 uses the image of drawing water from your own cistern, which 5:16 continues by asking about letting your springs be scattered abroad.
- Proverbs 5:18-19 (thematic): Contrasting theme of marital fidelity and blessing of one's own 'fountain'—these verses provide the positive counterpart to the rhetorical question in 5:16 about streams abroad.
- Song of Solomon 4:12-15 (verbal): Uses similar garden and spring/fountain imagery (a locked garden, a sealed fountain, streams flowing) to symbolize fidelity, delight, and exclusive love.
- Psalm 1:3 (thematic): Comparable simile of flourishing 'like a tree planted by streams of water'—water imagery denotes life, stability, and blessing tied to right conduct.
- Ezekiel 47:1-12 (structural): Extended vision of waters flowing out and bringing life wherever they go; echoes the motif of streams dispersing into public places and the life-giving or transformative power of water.
Alternative generated candidates
- Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the squares?
- Should your springs be spread abroad, streams of water in the streets?
Pro.5.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- לבדך: ADV,2,m,sg
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- לזרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl
- אתך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Prov.5.18 (verbal): Immediate continuation of the same exhortation—urges rejoicing in the wife of your youth, carrying forward the theme of exclusive marital delight.
- Prov.5.19 (verbal): Directly connected counsel to be ever satisfied with one's wife; reinforces the idea that a husband's affection and intimacy belong to his own wife alone.
- Song of Solomon 2:16 (verbal): “My beloved is mine, and I am his” expresses mutual, exclusive belonging between lovers, echoing Proverbs' demand that one keep intimacy for oneself.
- Song of Solomon 6:3 (thematic): Affirms exclusive mutual possession (“I am my beloved’s”), resonating with the proverb’s insistence that affection and sexual fidelity be reserved for one’s spouse.
- Exodus 20:14 (thematic): The commandment “You shall not commit adultery” provides the legal/moral background to Proverbs’ call for sexual exclusivity and prohibiting sharing oneself with strangers.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let them be yours alone, and not for strangers with you.
- Let them be for yourself alone; do not share them with strangers.
Pro.5.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהי: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- מקורך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:2,m
- ברוך: ADJ,m,sg
- ושמח: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מאשת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,constr
- נעורך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:2,m
Parallels
- Proverbs 5:19 (structural): Immediate continuation of 5:18; expands the injunction to delight in the wife of your youth and to be ever intoxicated with her love (same context and thought-unit).
- Malachi 2:14-15 (verbal): Uses the phrase "the wife of your youth" (אשת נְעוּרֶיךָ) and addresses faithfulness to her, echoing the specific expression and concern for the early-married companion.
- Ecclesiastes 9:9 (thematic): Advises rejoicing with the wife you love all the days of your life—shared theme of finding joy and blessing in one's spouse.
- Song of Solomon 4:12-15 (thematic): Employs garden and fountain imagery to celebrate the beloved; parallels the metaphor of a blessed spring/fountain and delight in one's partner.
- Proverbs 18:22 (thematic): Declares that finding a wife is finding a good thing and receiving favor from the Lord, resonating with Proverbs 5:18's portrayal of the wife as a blessing and cause for rejoicing.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.
- Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.
Pro.5.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אילת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- אהבים: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,pl
- ויעלת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חן: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- דדיה: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3f,sg
- ירוך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- באהבתה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3f,sg
- תשגה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- תמיד: ADV
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 4:5 (verbal): Uses the same erotic simile comparing the beloved’s breasts to fawns/gazelles; direct sensual praise of the lover’s body echoes Prov 5:19’s imagery.
- Song of Solomon 5:1 (thematic): Calls for feasting and drunkenness in love (’Drink, be drunk with love’), paralleling Prov 5:19’s wish that one be continually intoxicated with a spouse’s love.
- Proverbs 5:15–18 (structural): Immediate context: exhorts marital fidelity ('drink water from your own cistern' and 'rejoice in the wife of your youth'), with v.19 serving as the culminating erotic blessing.
- Proverbs 6:25–26 (thematic): Warns against lusting after another woman’s beauty and the consequences of adultery, providing a counterpoint to Prov 5:19’s celebration of satisfied, faithful love within marriage.
Alternative generated candidates
- A loving hind and a graceful doe—may her breasts satisfy you at all times; be intoxicated always with her love.
- A loving hind and a graceful doe—may her breasts satisfy you at all times; be ever enraptured by her love.
Pro.5.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולמה: CONJ
- תשגה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- בזרה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ותחבק: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- חק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נכריה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Prov.5:3-6 (verbal): Immediate context—same admonition against the 'strange/wanton woman' with closely related vocabulary and imagery warning of seduction and its deadly consequences.
- Prov.6:24-26 (verbal): Direct admonition to keep from the adulteress—uses similar imperatives and moral reasoning about the loss of honor and self-control.
- Prov.7:6-23 (structural): Extended seduction narrative that depicts the same scenario (young man ensnared by a foreign/adulterous woman), functioning as a narrative parallel and expansion of the warning.
- Prov.2:16-19 (thematic): Wisdom’s warning against the immoral/foreign woman and the deadly end of those who follow her—same moral purpose and theological contrast between wisdom and folly.
- Matt.5:28 (thematic): Jesus’ teaching equates lustful look with adultery of the heart—connects Proverbs’ external warning about sexual temptation to the New Testament’s concern with internal desire that leads to sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- Why, my son, should you be intoxicated with a forbidden woman, and embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
- Why should you, my son, be ravished by a strange woman and embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
Pro.5.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- נכח: PREP
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- דרכי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,1,_,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- מעגלתיו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- מפלס: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 15:3 (verbal): Both verses use the imagery of the Lord’s eyes seeing everywhere — God continually beholds men’s ways and actions.
- Psalm 33:13-15 (thematic): God looks from heaven and observes all people; nothing on earth is hidden from his sight, aligning with the idea that human ways are before the LORD.
- Psalm 11:4 (verbal): Speaks of the LORD’s eyes beholding and testing the children of men, echoing the motif of God’s attentive observation of human paths.
- Psalm 139:1-4 (thematic): Emphasizes God’s intimate knowledge of a person’s actions and thoughts (upsitting, uprising, and words), paralleling the thorough scrutiny of one’s ways.
- Hebrews 4:13 (allusion): New Testament summary that nothing is hidden from God’s sight — all things are naked and open to him — echoing the Proverbs assertion that a man’s ways lie before the LORD.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He weighs all his paths.
- For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he watches all his paths.
Pro.5.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עוונותיו: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3ms
- ילכדנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הרשע: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ובחבלי: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- חטאתו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRSFX,3,m,sg
- יתמך: VERB,hitpael,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 1:31 (thematic): Those who reject wisdom 'eat the fruit of their way'—the general idea that sinners suffer the consequences of their own actions echoes being caught by one's iniquities.
- Proverbs 26:27 (structural): 'Whoever digs a pit will fall into it'—proverbial imagery of schemes or sins turning back and ensnaring their author, paralleling being held with the cords of sin.
- Psalm 7:16 (verbal): 'His mischief returns upon his own head'—a close verbal parallel portraying evil deeds recoiling on the doer, like iniquities that capture the wicked.
- Galatians 6:7 (thematic): 'A man reaps what he sows'—the New Testament articulation of moral causality corresponds to the proverb's motif of sinners being trapped by their own deeds.
- Romans 6:23 (thematic): 'The wages of sin is death'—emphasizes the destructive outcome of sin, consistent with the proverb's view that sin ensnares and leads to ruin (cf. Prov. 5:23).
Alternative generated candidates
- His iniquities catch the wicked, and he is held in the cords of his sin.
- His iniquities ensnare him; he is held fast by the cords of his sin.
Pro.5.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- ימות: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- באין: PREP
- מוסר: NOUN,m,sg,const
- וברב: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אולתו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- ישגה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Prov 1:32 (verbal): Both verses warn that the simple/fool will be destroyed for lack of instruction; Prov 1:32 uses parallel language about the waywardness of the simple killing them, echoing death as the consequence of failing to heed wisdom.
- Prov 10:21 (verbal): Speaks of fools dying for lack of sense/understanding—a concise restatement of the link between absence of instruction and fatal consequence found in Prov 5:23.
- Prov 21:16 (thematic): Declares that one who wanders from the way of understanding will dwell among the dead—thematising the same outcome (death/ruin) for abandoning wisdom or instruction.
- Prov 7:26 (thematic): In the context of the adulterous woman (as in Prov 5), this verse depicts many slain by her—connecting folly and sexual folly specifically to death and destruction, parallel to Prov 5:23’s fatal outcome of foolishness.
- Prov 14:12 (thematic): Affirms that a way that seems right to a person can lead to death, reinforcing the general proverb-theme that misguided judgment or lack of true instruction culminates in ruin.
Alternative generated candidates
- He will die for lack of discipline; in the multitude of his folly he will go astray.
- He will die for lack of discipline; in the abundance of his folly he will wander astray.
My sons, give ear to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding.
To keep discretion—youmay preserve prudence—and let your lips guard knowledge.
For the lips of a strange woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end she is bitter as wormwood; sharp as a two-edged sword are her lips.
Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on Sheol.
She has not considered the path of life; her ways are unstable—you cannot know them. And now, my sons, hear me; do not depart from the words of my mouth.
Keep far from her path; do not come near the entrance to her house.
Lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the ruthless.
Lest strangers feast on your strength and outsiders enjoy your toil. And you will groan in your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed.
You will say, 'How I hated instruction, and my heart despised correction!'
I did not listen to the voice of my teacher; I would not incline my ear to my instructor.
I was almost in every evil, in the midst of the assembly and the congregation.
Drink water from your own cistern; running water from your own well.
Let your springs be spread abroad—streams of water in the public squares.
Let them be for you alone, and not for strangers with you.
Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth.
A loving doe and a graceful roe—let her breasts satisfy you at all times; be ever enraptured by her love.
Why, my son, would you be ravished by a strange woman and embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
For the eyes of the LORD are upon the ways of a man; He sees all his paths.
His iniquities will ensnare him; the cords of his sin will hold him fast.
He will die for lack of discipline; in the abundance of his folly he will go astray.