Avoiding Immorality (Leviticus 20:10–21; 1 Corinthians 5:1–8)
1 DBY My son, attend unto my wisdom, incline thine ear to my understanding; BSB BSB: My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight,
2 DBY that thou mayest keep reflection, and that thy lips may preserve knowledge. BSB BSB: that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 DBY For the lips of the strange woman drop honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; BSB BSB: Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
4 DBY but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. BSB BSB: in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 DBY Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on Sheol. BSB BSB: Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.
6 DBY Lest she should ponder the path of life, her ways wander, she knoweth not whither . BSB BSB: She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.
7 DBY And now, children, hearken unto me, and depart not from the words of my mouth. BSB BSB: So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth.
8 DBY Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: BSB BSB: Keep your path far from her; do not go near the door of her house,
9 DBY lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel; BSB BSB: lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel;
10 DBY lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and the fruits of thy toil come into the house of a stranger; BSB BSB: lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.
11 DBY and thou mourn in thine end, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed; BSB BSB: At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,
12 DBY and thou say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof! BSB BSB: and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
13 DBY and I have not hearkened unto the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to those that instructed me; BSB BSB: I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors.
14 DBY I was well nigh in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. BSB BSB: I am on the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.”
15 DBY Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. BSB BSB: Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
16 DBY Thy fountains shall be poured forth, as water-brooks in the broadways. BSB BSB: Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
17 DBY Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. BSB BSB: Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
18 DBY Let thy fountain be blessed; and have joy of the wife of thy youth. BSB BSB: May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
19 DBY As a lovely hind and a graceful roe, let her breasts satisfy thee at all times: be thou ravished continually with her love. BSB BSB: A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.
20 DBY And why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? BSB BSB: Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 DBY For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah, and he pondereth all his paths. BSB BSB: For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
22 DBY His own iniquities shall take the wicked, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sin. BSB BSB: The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
23 DBY He shall die for want of discipline; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. BSB BSB: He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.