Session 05 • Proverbs 5
Faithfulness, Boundaries & Delight — Theme 4: Relationships
Proverbs 5 gives a sober warning about seductive invitations and a hopeful picture of faithful delight. It contrasts the short-lived sweetness of unfaithfulness with the steady joy of honouring covenants and tending what is already entrusted to you.
Scripture should always be read first in your own Bible, with prayer and dependence on the Holy Spirit for understanding. North & Narrow’s notes are created with the help of technology and reflect a fallible, interpretive layer. Use this program as a supplemental guide, not a replacement for Scripture itself.
What today is about
Proverbs 5 warns that unfaithful paths begin with flattering words and end with regret. It calls for clear boundaries around desire and a wholehearted return to the gifts God has already given— especially covenant relationships and rightful delights.
- Seductive invitations feel smooth at the start but lead toward bitterness and loss.
- Ignoring counsel about desire and boundaries ends in regret and public consequence.
- Wisdom calls us to invest in faithful love and rightful delight, not scattered attention and secret sin.
Section 1 — The Flattering Invitation (vv. 1–6)
Proverbs 5:1–6 (KJV)
Proverbs 5:1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
Explanation (v.1): The father calls for focused attention. What follows is not curiosity material but serious protection.
Proverbs 5:2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
Explanation (v.2): Wisdom here aims to shape both inner discretion and outer speech. How we talk and respond will either guard us or expose us.
Proverbs 5:3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
Explanation (v.3): “Strange woman” pictures an unfaithful or forbidden invitation. The first impression is sweetness and smoothness; it feels pleasant and affirming.
Proverbs 5:4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
Explanation (v.4): The end result is the opposite of the beginning. What tasted like honey ends in bitterness and cutting pain.
Proverbs 5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
Explanation (v.5): The path is described in life-and-death terms. Following this invitation leads toward destruction, not harmless adventure.
Proverbs 5:6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
Explanation (v.6): The instability is intentional. The unfaithful path does not invite honest reflection; it shifts and hides so that you do not stop to weigh where you are going.
Section 2 — Regret, Cost & Ignored Counsel (vv. 7–14)
Proverbs 5:7–14 (KJV)
Proverbs 5:7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
Explanation (v.7): The appeal widens to “children” in general. The warning belongs to anyone who will listen, not only to one child in one time.
Proverbs 5:8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
Explanation (v.8): The counsel is distance. Wisdom does not suggest managing temptation at the door, but keeping your path far from that door altogether.
Proverbs 5:9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
Explanation (v.9): Yielding here means handing over honour and years—reputation and time—to people and forces that will not handle them with care.
Proverbs 5:10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
Explanation (v.10): Choices of unfaithfulness can carry financial and practical fallout. What you worked for may end up in others’ control.
Proverbs 5:11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
Explanation (v.11): There is a “last” where consequences arrive—relational, physical, emotional. The picture is of mourning over what cannot be easily undone.
Proverbs 5:12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
Explanation (v.12): Regret here sounds like recognition: “I rejected the correction I was given.” The grief is not only over the outcome but over ignoring warning.
Proverbs 5:13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
Explanation (v.13): There had been voices of guidance—teachers, mentors, Scripture. The path of regret often includes neglected counsel.
Proverbs 5:14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
Explanation (v.14): The fallout is not purely private. The person finds themself near ruin “in the midst” of community. Hidden choices can surface before others.
Section 3 — Rightful Delight & God’s Sight (vv. 15–21)
Proverbs 5:15–21 (KJV)
Proverbs 5:15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
Explanation (v.15): The imagery shifts to water and wells. The call is to receive and enjoy what is rightly yours, not to search for excitement elsewhere.
Proverbs 5:16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
Explanation (v.16): The wording is debated, but the flow contrasts with the next verse: the point is not to scatter intimacy or attention in public ways that diminish its meaning.
Proverbs 5:17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.
Explanation (v.17): Faithfulness keeps what is meant to be shared within covenant circles from being spread to “strangers.” It protects exclusivity in the right sense.
Proverbs 5:18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
Explanation (v.18): Here the imagery clearly applies to covenant marriage: rejoice in the person you committed to, instead of chasing novelty.
Proverbs 5:19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
Explanation (v.19): Scripture speaks positively about physical and emotional delight within covenant love. Desire is not denied but directed toward faithful enjoyment.
Proverbs 5:20 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
Explanation (v.20): The question presses the contrast: why trade a blessed, faithful delight for a stranger’s embrace that leads to loss and regret?
Proverbs 5:21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
Explanation (v.21): God sees all paths clearly. Even if people do not know where you have gone, your ways are weighed before Him.
Recap — Proverbs 5 (Key threads)
- Seductive invitations start smooth but end in bitterness and damage (vv.3–5).
- Ignored counsel about desire and boundaries leads to public regret and loss (vv.8–14).
- Wisdom calls us back to faithful delight in what God has already entrusted, under His watching eye (vv.15–21).
Today’s practice — Draw a boundary, nourish rightful delight
Aim: Move away from scattered, secret pulls and toward faithful, life-giving relationships and delights. This session especially supports the Relationships • Wood (speech & boundaries) and Relationships • Silver (covenant care & steady presence) medallions.
Quick — Today (5–10 minutes)
- Identify one channel of unhelpful pull (a feed, chat, place, or pattern) that nudges you toward flirting with temptation or discontent.
- Apply Proverbs 5:8 in a small, concrete way: mute, unfollow, avoid, or change your route so you are “far from the door.”
- Then intentionally give your attention to one rightful delight: a person you are committed to, a God-honouring project, or time in thankful prayer.
Medium — 7 days (“Faithful Attention”)
- Each day, ask: “Where did my attention go first when I was tired, lonely, or bored?”
- Choose one covenant or core relationship (family member, close friend, spouse if applicable) and plan one small act of care or presence for that person each day this week.
- In parallel, choose one “door” you will not go near this week: a context, app, or conversation that reliably stirs unhealthy desire or comparison.
- At week’s end, write 3–5 lines on how this sharper boundary and deeper presence affected your peace.
Deep — 30 days (“Delight Where You Are Planted”)
- Prayerfully list the primary relationships and responsibilities God has already entrusted to you (home, friendships, work, church, community).
- For 30 days, choose one sphere to “water” intentionally each day: a consistent encouragement, shared meal, listening moment, or act of service.
- Also name one pattern of scattered attention (emotional affairs, fantasy, envy, secret comparison) and set a clear guardrail: device limits, accountability, or a different end-of-day rhythm.
- At the end of 30 days, summarise how your sense of contentment, trustworthiness, and joy has shifted.
Comparative lenses — Other wisdom echoes
Aristotle — Temperance, fidelity, and ordered desire
Aristotle treats virtue as rightly ordered desire, especially in areas of pleasure. Temperance is neither cold repression nor uncontrolled indulgence, but channelled enjoyment in its proper context. Proverbs 5’s call to avoid destructive entanglements and rejoice in faithful love fits this picture: desire is not erased but disciplined toward what sustains a good life.
Confucius — Harmony in roles and faithful relationships
Confucius stresses harmony in family and society through faithfulness in one’s roles and relationships. Betraying trust for private gain damages more than one person; it disturbs the wider order. Proverbs 5’s concern with public regret and community impact echoes this: hidden unfaithfulness eventually touches the “congregation and assembly.”
Socrates — Examining the story you are telling yourself
Socrates presses people to test the stories they tell themselves to justify their choices. Proverbs 5 anticipates this by exposing the gap between the sweet beginning and bitter end of unfaithfulness. The text invites you to ask: “What am I promising myself about this path, and what has it actually produced in others’ lives?”
Buddha — Craving, attachment, and the cost of grasping
In Buddhist teaching, craving and misplaced attachment generate suffering. While the worldview differs from Scripture, Proverbs 5 similarly warns that grasping for forbidden intimacy or excitement leads to loss, regret, and entanglement. Both perspectives, in different ways, point to the freedom found in contentment, discipline, and letting go of destructive cravings.
Closing prayer (optional)
Lord, You see all my ways. Thank You for warning me about paths that end in bitterness and loss. Teach me to draw wise boundaries, to turn away from doors I should not approach, and to delight in the people and gifts You have already entrusted to me. Shape my desires so they honour You and bring life to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.