The Young Man's Crossroads from Proverbs 5Bible World
5:4Proverbs 5:4
But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
The strange woman's sin looks inviting at first, sweet like honey on the lips and smooth like oil to the mouth, but its outcome turns bitter like wormwood and cutting like a sword sharpened on both edges. That bitterness means a man hands his honor over to others and gives his best years to one who shows no mercy. It means strangers seize his wealth and feed on the hard work of his hands. It means he groans in remorse at the last, when venereal disease has eaten away his flesh and wasted his body.
It means his path sinks downward to death, to a place of no return from which travelers do not come back. It means he takes his place with her former guests, already gathered in the lowest depths of the grave and of ruin. Therefore the only safety is to keep far from her, to turn the feet aside and never approach the door of her house.
The strange woman's sin looks inviting at first, sweet like honey on the lips and smooth like oil to the mouth, but its outcome turns bitter like wormwood and cutting like a sword sharpened on both edges. That bitterness means a man hands his honor over to others and gives his best years to one who shows no mercy. It means strangers seize his wealth and feed on the hard work of his hands. It means he groans in remorse at the last, when venereal disease has eaten away his flesh and wasted his body.
It means his path sinks downward to death, to a place of no return from which travelers do not come back. It means he takes his place with her former guests, already gathered in the lowest depths of the grave and of ruin. Therefore the only safety is to keep far from her, to turn the feet aside and never approach the door of her house.