5:1 My child, be attentive to my wisdom, pay close attention to my understanding, 5:2 in order to safeguard discretion, and that your lips may guard knowledge.
It is import to note that sex education should be taught to children through the Bible. Solomon addressed his sons in the singular again. He asked them to pay close attention to what he was about to say.
5:3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil, 5:4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
The lips of the adulteress are as sweet as honey. Her seductive words are smoother than olive oil. However, the end result of spending the night with her is as bitter as wormwood. Her lips and words will cut the skin like a two-edged sword.
5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. 5:6 Lest she should make level the path leading to life, her paths are unstable but she does not know it.
The adulteress leads man to death. The sin of the adulteress makes her unaware that her paths are crooked.
5:7 So now, children, listen to me; do not turn aside from the words I speak.
Solomon addressed his children in the plural. He asked them to listen very carefully to his advice.
5:8 Keep yourself far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,
Solomon warned his sons to not go anywhere near the house of the adulteress. She was much too dangerous for them to handle. When Joseph met Potiphar’s adulteress wife, he fled. This was because he possessed very strong Bible doctrine. If a believer is met with the temptation to commit adultery, then they need to flee the situation.
5:9 lest you give your vigor to others and your years to a cruel person,
Solomon warned his sons that the results of spending the night with an adulteress will cause them loss of health and loss of a long life.
5:10 lest strangers devour your strength, and your labor benefit another man’s house.
Solomon warned his sons that the results of spending the night with an adulteress will cause them a loss of money. They will have to pay the adulteress, pay her husband, and pay child support.
5:11 And at the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are wasted away.
Solomon warned his sons that the results of spending the night with an adulteress will cause them loss of health. Sexual diseases and stress will cause the body to begin to waste away.
5:12 And you will say, “How I hated discipline! My heart spurned reproof!
Solomon warned his sons that the results of spending the night with an adulteress will cause them to regret the discipline that they received from their parents.
5:13 For I did not obey my teachers and I did not heed my instructors.
The teachers and instructors were the parents and the Levitical priests who taught the Mosaic Law.
5:14 I almost came to complete ruin in the midst of the whole congregation!”
Solomon warned his sons that the results of spending the night with an adulteress will cause them to lose the respect of the congregation.
5:15 Drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own well.
Solomon warned his sons that they should drink water only from their own cisterns and from their own wells. This meant that his sons should keep a monogamous relationship with their own wives.
5:16 Should your springs be dispersed outside, your streams of water in the wide plazas?
Solomon’s sons should not look for refreshing waters (sex outside of marriage) outside of their own homes.
5:17 Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you.
Sexual desires should be controlled and channeled in one’s marriage.
5:18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in your young wife —
Solomon’s sons were advised that they should have their physical needs met by their own wives, not someone else’s wife.
5:19 a loving doe, a graceful deer; may her breasts satisfy you at all times, may you be captivated by her love always.
Solomon reminded his sons that their wife’s breasts were like a loving doe or a graceful deer, so they should be captivated by them
5:20 But why should you be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, and embrace the bosom of a different woman?
Solomon reminded his sons that a husband should only be captivated by the breasts of his own wife. He should not be captivated by the breasts of an immoral woman.
5:21 For the ways of a person are in front of the Lord’s eyes, and the Lord weighs all that person’s paths.
Solomon warned his sons that if they commit adultery, then God will be in the bedroom watching them commit this sinful act with His very own eyes. He will judge them for this sin. Man cannot escape this judgment. God Himself will catch them in the act. Secret sin on earth is open scandal in heaven.
5:22 The wicked will be captured by his own iniquities, and he will be held by the cords of his own sin.
Solomon warned his sons that sin ensures and it ties them down like a rope. Man will not be able to accomplish God’s will in their lives if they are bound by sin. People like to talk about being “free” to sin, but sin actually takes away their freedom. Sin enslaves man to the devil himself.
5:23 He will die because there was no discipline; because of the greatness of his folly he will reel.
Solomon warned his sons that the lack of spiritual discipline in their life will result in death. Once a believer commits the sin unto death, then God will end his earthly ministry and bring him home. He will not lose his eternal life, but he will lose his physical life. God will give his ministry to someone else. God will give his rewards in heaven to someone else.
Ministry is a great gift from God. Believers need to master Bible doctrine so that they can gain the ability to avoid temptation and serve the Lord.