Proverbs
Chapter 5
My son, heed my wisdom and listen to my insights;
remember my counsel and let your lips not depart from this knowledge.
The Prostitute
Know that the adulteress’s lips are sweet as honey and her words smoother than oil,
but the outcome is as bitter as herbs. It is as sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet head toward the grave, and her steps lead to death.
She pays no attention to the path of life and wanders without realizing it.
Now then, my son, listen to me and remember my words:
Avoid her and never go near the door of her house,
lest you give away your honor to strangers and your prime years to cruel men,
lest others take your goods and your earnings go to another’s house.
You will complain in the end, when your body and flesh are already devoured and
you will say: “Why did I reject instruction and turn my back on sound advice?
Why did I not listen to the voice of my teachers and follow their counsel?
For I have reached the depths of disgrace in the midst of the whole community.”
Joy of Marriage
Drink, then, from the water of your own cistern, from what flows in your own well.
Don’t waste your fountains elsewhere or in public streets.
They are only for you and not for strangers.
May your fountainhead be blessed, and may you find joy in the wife of your youth,
your beautiful hind and graceful gazelle! May her breasts always be your delight; remain forever in love with her.
My son, why be captivated by an adulteress and embrace a strange woman?
For the Lord watches the ways of men and observes all their paths.
The wicked will be caught in their own evil and remain entangled in the nets of their sin.
He will perish due to a lack of discipline and will be overwhelmed by the growing wave of his own evil.
Commentaries
First Collection.
These initial nine chapters serve as an introduction to the entire book, attributed to the final editor of the work.
The Good Path.
The discussion about the good path as something worth pursuing continues. In the wisdom tradition, the path is viewed as a metaphor for the way of life that believers should strive for and aspire to. In the New Testament, Jesus aligns himself with that path: He is the way that leads to the Father. Jesus’ plan provides us with everything we need to connect with the Father and return to his original plan for life.
The Prostitute.
This passage does not merely warn humans seeking wisdom about relationships with prostitutes. Upon closer examination, the wise man’s advice also addresses relationships with foreign women, reflecting concerns that arose in post-exilic Israel. Jews are encouraged to love their wife wholeheartedly, to have only one, and to choose her from within the Jewish community to avoid two main dangers: 1. In the economic realm, there was a risk that, if the husband died, his estate could fall into foreign hands, potentially leaving the family of the deceased at risk of servitude to a foreigner. 2. From a religious perspective, a non-Jewish wife could introduce the idols of her family into the new household with an Israelite, which was considered abominable in the eyes of the Lord.
Joy of Marriage.
Continuing with the previous theme, the importance of marriage and fidelity to one’s wife in youth is emphasized here. It is well known that during the post-exile period, there were several abuses related to marriage, which is why great emphasis is placed on the faithful husband and, above all, on the one who has chosen his wife from within the same Israelite community.