Proverbs 5:1
New International Version
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight,

New Living Translation
My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel.

English Standard Version
My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,

Berean Standard Bible
My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight,

King James Bible
My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:

New King James Version
My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding,

New American Standard Bible
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding,

NASB 1995
My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding;

NASB 1977
My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding;

Legacy Standard Bible
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my discernment;

Amplified Bible
My son, be attentive to my wisdom [godly wisdom learned by costly experience], Incline your ear to my understanding;

Christian Standard Bible
My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen closely to my understanding

Holman Christian Standard Bible
My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen closely to my understanding

American Standard Version
My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding:

Contemporary English Version
My son, if you listen closely to my wisdom and good sense,

English Revised Version
My son, attend unto my wisdom; incline thine ear to my understanding:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Open your ears to my understanding

Good News Translation
My child, pay attention and listen to my wisdom and insight.

International Standard Version
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, and listen closely to my insight,

Majority Standard Bible
My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight,

NET Bible
My child, be attentive to my wisdom, pay close attention to my understanding,

New Heart English Bible
My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:

Webster's Bible Translation
My son, attend to my wisdom, and bow thy ear to my understanding:

World English Bible
My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
My son! Give attention to my wisdom, "" Incline your ear to my understanding,

Young's Literal Translation
My son! to my wisdom give attention, To mine understanding incline thine ear,

Smith's Literal Translation
My son, attend to my wisdom; incline thine ear to understanding:
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
My son, attend to my wisdom, and incline thy ear to my prudence.

Catholic Public Domain Version
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, and incline your ear to my prudence,

New American Bible
My son, to my wisdom be attentive, to understanding incline your ear,

New Revised Standard Version
My child, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
MY son, attend to my wisdom and incline your ear to my understanding,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
My son, give ear to my wisdom and incline your ear to my sayings
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
My son, attend to my wisdom, and apply thine ear to my words;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Avoiding Immorality
1My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight, 2that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.…

Cross References
Proverbs 4:1
Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.

Proverbs 2:1-5
My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you, / if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding, / if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, ...

Proverbs 1:8
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.

Proverbs 3:1-2
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; / for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life.

Proverbs 6:20-23
My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. / Bind them always upon your heart; tie them around your neck. / When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. ...

Proverbs 7:1-3
My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you. / Keep my commandments and live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. / Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.

Proverbs 8:32-33
Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways. / Listen to instruction and be wise; do not ignore it.

Proverbs 9:9-10
Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning. / The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 19:20
Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.

Proverbs 22:17-19
Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise—apply your mind to my knowledge— / for it is pleasing when you keep them within you and they are constantly on your lips. / So that your trust may be in the LORD, I instruct you today—yes, you.

Proverbs 23:19
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.

Proverbs 23:22
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Proverbs 24:13-14
Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste. / Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there is a future for you, and your hope will never be cut off.

James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

James 3:13-17
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. / But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. / Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ...


Treasury of Scripture

My son, attend to my wisdom, and bow your ear to my understanding:

bow

Proverbs 22:17
Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.

James 1:19
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

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Attend Attention Attentive Bow Ear Incline Insight Pay Teaching Turn Turned Understanding Wisdom Words
Proverbs 5
1. Solomon exhorts to wisdom
3. He shows the mischief of unfaithfulness and riot
15. He exhorts to contentedness, generosity, and chastity
22. The wicked are overtaken with their own sins














My son
This phrase is a tender and personal address, indicating a relationship of care and authority. In the Hebrew context, "son" (בְּנִי, beni) is often used in wisdom literature to denote a disciple or learner, not just a biological child. It reflects the intimate and instructional relationship between a teacher and a student, emphasizing the importance of the guidance being offered. The use of "my son" suggests a familial bond, underscoring the responsibility of the elder to impart wisdom and the duty of the younger to receive it.

pay attention
The Hebrew root for "pay attention" (קָשַׁב, qashab) implies an active, intentional listening. It is not merely hearing words but engaging with them, considering their meaning and implications. This phrase calls for a focused and deliberate effort to understand and internalize the wisdom being shared. In the biblical context, paying attention is often linked with obedience and the pursuit of righteousness, suggesting that wisdom requires not just intellectual assent but also practical application.

to my wisdom
"Wisdom" (חָכְמָה, chokmah) in the Hebrew Bible is more than knowledge; it is skill in living according to God's design. It encompasses moral and ethical understanding, discernment, and the ability to make godly choices. The speaker claims possession of this wisdom, indicating that it is divinely inspired and trustworthy. In the broader scriptural context, wisdom is personified and is seen as a gift from God, essential for a life that honors Him.

incline your ear
This phrase suggests a posture of humility and eagerness to learn. The Hebrew verb (נָטָה, natah) means to stretch out or extend, indicating an active effort to listen and understand. It conveys the idea of bending one's will and attention towards the speaker, demonstrating a readiness to receive instruction. In the biblical tradition, inclining one's ear is often associated with submission to God's will and openness to His guidance.

to my understanding
"Understanding" (תְּבוּנָה, tebunah) is closely related to wisdom but emphasizes insight and discernment. It involves the ability to see beyond the surface and grasp the deeper truths of a situation. The speaker's understanding is presented as reliable and beneficial, offering clarity and direction. In the context of Proverbs, understanding is portrayed as a vital component of a godly life, enabling individuals to navigate the complexities of the world with integrity and faithfulness.

Verses 1-23. - 8. Eighth admonitory discourse. Warning against adultery, and commendation of marriage. The teacher, in this discourse, recurs to a subject which he has glanced at before in Proverbs 2:15-19, and which he again treats of in the latter part of the sixth and in the whole of the seventh chapters. This constant recurrence to the same subject, repulsive on account of its associations, shows, however, the importance which it had in the teacher's estimation as a ground of warning, and that he ranked it among the foremost of the temptations and sins which called the young off from the pursuit of Wisdom, and so led them astray from "the fear of the Lord." The vividness with which the ruin, bodily and moral, ensuing with absolute certainty on a life of vice, is described is a sufficient proof in itself that the subject before us is not brought forward from or for voluptuous motives, but for the purpose of conveying an impressive warning. Some commentators, e.g. Delitzsch, include the first six verses in the previous discourse; but the unity of the subject requires a different treatment. Zockler's reason against this arrangement, on the ground that the previous discourse was addressed to "tender youth," and thus to youth in a state of pupilage, while the one before us refers to more advanced age - to the married man - may be true, but is not the true ground for incorporating them in the present discourse. The unity of the subject requires that they should be taken with the central and didactic part of the discourse, as being in a sense introductory to it. The discourse divides itself into three sections.

(1) The earnest appeal to attention because of the counter-attraction in the blandishments of the harlot, which, however, in the end, are bitter as wormwood and sharp as a two-edged sword (vers. 1-6).

(2) The main or didactic section (vers. 7-20), embracing

(a) warnings against adulterous intercourse with "the strange woman" (vers. 7-14); . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
My son,
בְּ֭נִי (bə·nî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1121: A son

pay attention
הַקְשִׁ֑יבָה (haq·šî·ḇāh)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 7181: To prick up the ears, hearken

to my wisdom;
לְחָכְמָתִ֣י (lə·ḥā·ḵə·mā·ṯî)
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 2451: Wisdom

incline
הַט־ (haṭ-)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 5186: To stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend

your ear
אָזְנֶֽךָ׃ (’ā·zə·ne·ḵā)
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 241: Broadness, the ear

to my understanding,
לִ֝תְבוּנָתִ֗י (liṯ·ḇū·nā·ṯî)
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 8394: Intelligence, an argument, caprice


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 5:1 My son pay attention to my wisdom (Prov. Pro Pr)
Proverbs 4:27
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