Proverbs 5:7

Proverbs 5:7, in plain English

So listen to me and really mean it—don't let yourself wander in the direction of this temptation, not even a little bit.

Why it's here

Now the father is directly commanding his sons not just to understand the warning, but to actively resist and redirect themselves. This is where knowledge becomes action. He's calling for real obedience, not just mental agreement.

Who's speaking

The teaching father, now broadening his address to multiple sons

Where it sits in the story

This echoes how throughout Scripture, God's people are called to actively obey, not passively understand. It's the difference between knowing what's right and actually doing what's right—a distinction that appears from Moses to Jesus to Paul.

The scholarly reading

The father now directly exhorts his sons to obey his instruction and reject the seduction he has warned them against.

Language and setting

The shift to 'my sons' (plural) expands the audience from individual to collective—a rhetorical move suggesting that this warning is not idiosyncratic but normative for the entire community of young men. The imperative 'listen to me' (שְׁמַע לִי, shma li) invokes the Shema prayer tradition (Deuteronomy 6:4), implying that heeding parental wisdom is a covenantal obligation parallel to heeding God's law. The phrase 'do not turn aside from' (אַל־תִּשְׁמְעוּ, al tishmeu) suggests active resistance—not merely passive disregard but deliberate refusal to be swayed.

Voice

The father-teacher, now issuing a direct command with escalating urgency.

Significance

This echoes the prophetic call to covenant faithfulness—particularly the deuteronomic exhortations that position obedience as the fundamental human choice between blessing and curse (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).

5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.

6She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.

7So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth.

8Keep your path far from her; do not go near the door of her house,

9lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel;

Read all of Proverbs 5 — The lips of a forbidden woman drip honey — but her end is bitter as wormwood. A warning that sounds ancient but arrives fresh every generation.