The Disaster of Folly (Proverbs 5:1-7:27)
John Parker, 29th May 2016Part of the Study of Proverbs series, preached at a Fordham Sunday Service service
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5:2 that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
5:3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;
5:4 but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
5:6 She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not.
5:7 Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.
5:8 Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,
5:9 lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel,
5:10 lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man's house.
5:11 At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.
5:12 You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!
5:13 I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors.
5:14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly."
5:15 Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.
5:16 Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
5:17 Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
5:18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
5:19 A loving doe, a graceful deer- may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.
5:20 Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife?
5:21 For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord , and he examines all his paths.
5:22 The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.
5:23 He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
6:1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another,
6:2 if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth,
6:3 then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor!
6:4 Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.
6:5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!
6:7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,
6:8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
6:9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?
6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-
6:11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
6:12 A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
6:13 who winks with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers,
6:14 who plots evil with deceit in his heart- he always stirs up dissension.
6:15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed-without remedy.
6:16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
6:17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
6:18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
6:19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
6:20 My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
6:21 Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck.
6:22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
6:23 For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life,
6:24 keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.
6:25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes,
6:26 for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.
6:27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?
6:28 Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?
6:29 So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.
6:30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
6:31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
6:32 But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.
6:33 Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away;
6:34 for jealousy arouses a husband's fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
6:35 He will not accept any compensation; he will refuse the bribe, however great it is.
7:1 My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you.
7:2 Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
7:3 Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
7:4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and call understanding your kinsman;
7:5 they will keep you from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words.
7:6 At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice.
7:7 I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment.
7:8 He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house
7:9 at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.
7:10 Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
7:11 (She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home;
7:12 now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.)
7:13 She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said:
7:14 "I have fellowship offerings at home; today I fulfilled my vows.
7:15 So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you!
7:16 I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt.
7:17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
7:18 Come, let's drink deep of love till morning; let's enjoy ourselves with love!
7:19 My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.
7:20 He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon."
7:21 With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.
7:22 All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose
7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.
7:24 Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say.
7:25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths.
7:26 Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng.
7:27 Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.
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