Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. How is the adulterous woman described in Proverbs 5:3 (printed below?)
The lips of an adulteress (literally, “a foreign woman”) drip with honey, and her speech is smoother than oil (Proverbs 5:3)
Verse 3 speaks about the allurement of the adulterous woman: her charm and her ability to entice. The adulteress is literally called “a strange (or, “foreign”) woman.” As a married man such a woman should be and should remain a stranger to you. Her lips “drip with honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;” she is described as a “sweet talker” (the picture is that of sweet honey oozing fresh from the honeycomb, something that is very appealing) and a “smooth talker” (“smoother than oil;” very persuasive in alluring unsuspecting victims into her fatal trap).
2. Of what does Proverbs 5:4 (printed below) caution us?
…in the end she is as bitter as gall and sharp as a double-edged sword. (Proverbs 5:4)
Verse 4 cautions us to beware of the end (i.e.; the final outcome). At the end “she is as bitter as gall.” The initial excitement, the initial promise of sweetness, turn into bitterness (note Ecclesiastes 7:26). She is “sharp as a double-edged sword.” For a conscience that has not become callous and that is still spiritually alive, there will be tortuously painful memories (note verses 11-12) and there will be extremely painful consequences (note Proverbs 6:27-29,33-35).
3. What wise counsel is offered to us in Proverbs 5:8 (printed below?) Also note Proverbs 7:6-10,25 (printed below)
Keep to a path that is far from her, and do not go near the door of her house (Proverbs 5:8)
At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice. (7) I noticed among the naïve, I observed among the young men, a youth who lacked sense. (8) Going down the street near her corner, he went in the direction of her house, (9) at twilight, in the evening, in the middle of the night and in the darkness. (10) Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with a cunning heart…(25) Do not lust for her beauty in your heart, and do not let her captivate you with her eyes (Proverbs 7:6-10,25)
Verse 8 gives us this wise counsel: “Keep to a path that is far from her, and do not go near the door of her house.” Proverbs 7:6-10 speaks of a young man, void of understanding, who went out looking for trouble, and trouble found him. Proverbs 7:25 issues the warning: “Do not let your heart turn to her ways; do not stray into her paths.” Consider the example of Joseph when Potiphar’s wife repeatedly sought to seduce him: “And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.” (Genesis 39:10). No doubt the apostle Paul had Joseph in mind when he exhorts us to “flee sexual immorality” (1 Corinthian 6:18).
4. Proverbs 5:9-14 (printed below) reinforces the admonition to stay away from tempting situations by again revealing the consequences of adultery and sexual immorality. What are the consequences listed in these verses?
…you will give away your honor and give your years to those who are cruel. (10) Stay away from her or else strangers will feast on your wealth and you will labor in the house of an alien. (11) You will grieve over the outcome of your life, when your flesh and body are worn out. (12) Then you will say, “How I hated instruction! And my heart despised correction! (13) I would not obey the voice of my teachers, or listen to those who instructed me! (14) I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly!” (Proverbs 5:9-14)
Verses 9-14 reinforce the admonition to stay away from tempting situations by revealing the consequences of adultery and sexual immorality. “You will give away your honor and give your years to those who are cruel” (verse 9). That is to say, you will surrender your reputation, your good name, your respect, and your integrity; in exchange, you will become an object of scorn, contempt, ridicule, and gossip in the mouth of cruel men for years to come, even all the years of your life. “Strangers will feast on your wealth and you will labor in the house of an alien” (verse 10); you will be reduced to poverty, bound to do menial work for others. The cost of adultery and sexual immorality may also be measured in financial terms as well as spiritual terms: the loss of family, the loss of standing in the community, the loss of confidence on the part of others in your trustworthiness and moral integrity; the loss of these things many times translates into financial loss as well (note Proverbs 6:26a). So long as your conscience is still alive, you will experience the terrible agony of guilt and remorse (verses 11-13). Verse 14 contains the testimony of one who is overwhelmed by his guilt in the midst of God’s holy assembly.
5. What counsel is given to us in Proverbs 5:15-18 (printed below?) What do you think is being conveyed by means of the imagery used here?
Drink water from your own cistern, fresh water from your own well. (16) Should your spring overflow in the streets—streams of water in the public square? (17) Let them be for yourself alone, not to be shared with strangers. (18) May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. (Proverbs 5:15-18)
Verse 15 exhorts us to “Drink water from your own cistern, fresh water from your own well.” This is a poetic way of saying, let your sexual desires be satisfied with your own spouse. Verse 16 poses the question, “Should your spring overflow in the streets—streams of water in the public square?” Here is a poetic way of pointing out the inappropriateness and the wrongfulness of promiscuous sex. Verse 17 urges us, “Let them (your springs) be for yourself alone, not to be shared with strangers.” Here is poetically emphasized the intimate and sacred nature of the sexual act; it is something to be experienced and enjoyed exclusively within the bonds of marriage. Verse 18 expresses the desire, “May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.” Here is expressed God’s desire that, within the confines of marriage, His good gift of sex be enjoyed to the full with His blessing.
