Proverbs 5:9
New International Version
lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel,

New Living Translation
If you do, you will lose your honor and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved.

English Standard Version
lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,

Berean Standard Bible
lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel;

King James Bible
Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:

New King James Version
Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

New American Standard Bible
Otherwise you will give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

NASB 1995
Or you will give your vigor to others And your years to the cruel one;

NASB 1977
Lest you give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

Legacy Standard Bible
Lest you give your splendor to others And your years to the cruel one;

Amplified Bible
Or you will give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one,

Christian Standard Bible
Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others and your years to someone cruel;

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others and your years to someone cruel;

American Standard Version
Lest thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;

Contemporary English Version
You will lose your self-respect and end up in debt to some cruel person for the rest of your life.

English Revised Version
Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Either you will surrender your reputation to others and [the rest of] your years to some cruel person,

Good News Translation
If you do, others will gain the respect that you once had, and you will die young at the hands of merciless people.

International Standard Version
so that you don't give your honor to others, and waste your best years;

Majority Standard Bible
lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel;

NET Bible
lest you give your vigor to others and your years to a cruel person,

New Heart English Bible
lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the merciless;

Webster's Bible Translation
Lest thou give thy honor to others, and thy years to the cruel:

World English Bible
lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Lest you give your splendor to others, "" And your years to the fierce,

Young's Literal Translation
Lest thou give to others thy honour, And thy years to the fierce,

Smith's Literal Translation
Lest thou shalt give thy strength to others, and thy years to the cruel:
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Give not thy honour to strangers, and thy years to the cruel.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Do not give your honor to foreigners, and your years to the cruel.

New American Bible
Lest you give your honor to others, and your years to a merciless one;

New Revised Standard Version
or you will give your honor to others, and your years to the merciless,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Lest you give your strength to others, and your years to the cruel;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Lest you give others your power and your years to those who are merciless
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Lest thou give thy vigour unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
lest thou give away thy life to others, and thy substance to the merciless:

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Avoiding Immorality
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; 10lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.…

Cross References
Proverbs 6:26
For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

Proverbs 7:26-27
For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number. / Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.

Ecclesiastes 7:26
And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.

Proverbs 2:18-19
For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits. / None who go to her return or negotiate the paths of life.

Proverbs 23:27-28
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well. / Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.

Proverbs 9:18
But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Proverbs 22:14
The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.

Proverbs 7:22-23
He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap, / until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare—not knowing it will cost him his life.

Proverbs 7:6-23
For at the window of my house I looked through the lattice. / I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment, / crossing the street near her corner, strolling down the road to her house, ...

Proverbs 9:13-18
The woman named Folly is loud; she is naive and knows nothing. / She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city, / calling out to those who pass by, who make their paths straight. ...

1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; / each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, / not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

1 Corinthians 5:9-11
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. / I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. / But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

Ephesians 5:3-5
But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed. / Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving. / For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.


Treasury of Scripture

Lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel:

Proverbs 6:29-35
So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent…

Genesis 38:23-26
And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her…

Judges 16:19-21
And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him…

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Best Cruel Fear Fierce Honor Honour Merciless Others Strange Strength Vigor Vigour Wealth
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














lest you concede
The phrase "lest you concede" serves as a warning, urging the reader to avoid a particular outcome. The Hebrew root here is "תִּתֵּן" (titten), which means "to give" or "to yield." In the context of Proverbs, this is a caution against giving away something valuable, such as one's strength or honor, to others. The wisdom literature of the Bible often emphasizes the importance of guarding one's integrity and resources, suggesting that conceding them can lead to personal and spiritual loss.

your vigor
The word "vigor" is translated from the Hebrew "הוֹד" (hod), which can mean "splendor," "majesty," or "strength." This term is often associated with the vitality and energy that God bestows upon individuals. In a broader biblical context, vigor is a gift from God meant to be used for His glory and purposes. The warning here is against squandering this divine gift through foolish or sinful actions, such as engaging in immoral relationships or pursuits.

to others
The phrase "to others" implies a transfer of what is rightfully one's own to someone else. In the historical and cultural context of ancient Israel, this could refer to losing one's wealth, reputation, or even family inheritance to outsiders or adversaries. The wisdom of Proverbs often contrasts the wise, who retain their resources and honor, with the foolish, who lose them to others through poor decisions.

and your years
"Your years" refers to the span of one's life, emphasizing the preciousness of time. The Hebrew word "שָׁנִים" (shanim) is used here, highlighting the idea that life is a finite resource. The Bible frequently reminds believers to use their time wisely, as seen in passages like Psalm 90:12, which encourages numbering our days to gain a heart of wisdom. The implication is that wasting one's years on unworthy pursuits is a form of self-imposed cruelty.

to one who is cruel
The phrase "to one who is cruel" warns against becoming subject to harsh or oppressive individuals. The Hebrew word "אַכְזָרִי" (akzari) denotes someone who is ruthless or merciless. In the biblical narrative, cruelty is often associated with those who oppose God's people or His ways. This serves as a cautionary note to avoid entanglements with individuals or systems that do not honor God, as they can lead to spiritual and physical bondage.

(9) Thine honour.--Rather, freshness, vigour.

Thy years.--The best years of thy life.

Unto the cruel.--That is the temptress herself, or her hangers-on and associates, whose sole idea is plunder.

Verse 9. - The reasons why the harlot is to be avoided follow in rapid succession. Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel. The word rendered "honour" (Hebrew, hod) is not so much reputation, as the English implies, as "the grace and freshness of youth." It is so used in Hosea 14:6; Daniel 10:8. The Vulgate renders "honour," and the LXX., ζώη, "life." Hod is derived from the Arabic word signifying "to lift one's self up," and then "to be eminent, beautiful." Thy years; i.e. the best and most vigorous, and hence the most useful and valuable, years of life. Unto the cruel (Hebrew, l'ak'zari); literally, to the cruel one; but the adjective akzari is only found in the singular, and may be here used in a collective sense as designating the entourage of the harlot, her associates who prey pitilessly on the youth whom they bring within the range of her fascinations. So Delitzsch. It seems to be so understood by the LXX., which reads ἀνελεήμοσιν, immitentibus; but not so by the Vulgate, which adheres to the singular, crudeli. If we adhere to the gender of the adjective akzari, which is masculine, and to its number, it may designate the husband of the adulteress, who will deal mercilessly towards the paramour of his wife. So Zockler. Again, it may refer, notwithstanding the gender, to the harlot herself (so Vatablus and Holden). who is cruel, who has no love for the youth, and would see him perish without pity. The explanation of Stuart and others, including Ewald, that the "cruel one" is the purchaser of the punished adulterer, is without foundation or warrant, since there is no historical instance on record where the adulterer was reduced to slavery, and the punishment inflicted by the Mosaic code was not slavery, but death (Numbers 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22), and, as it appears from Ezekiel 16:40 and John 8:5, death from stoning. The adjective akzari, like its equivalent akzar, is derived from the verb kazar, "to break," and occurs again in Proverbs 11:17; Proverbs 12:10; Proverbs 17:11. The moral of the warning is a wasted life.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
lest
פֶּן־ (pen-)
Conjunction
Strong's 6435: Removal, lest

you concede
תִּתֵּ֣ן (tit·tên)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

your vigor
הוֹדֶ֑ךָ (hō·w·ḏe·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 1935: Splendor, majesty, vigor

to others,
לַאֲחֵרִ֣ים (la·’ă·ḥê·rîm)
Preposition-l | Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 312: Hinder, next, other

and your years
וּ֝שְׁנֹתֶ֗יךָ (ū·šə·nō·ṯe·ḵā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 8141: A year

to one who is cruel,
לְאַכְזָרִֽי׃ (lə·’aḵ·zā·rî)
Preposition-l | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 394: Terrible


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 5:9 Lest you give your honor to others (Prov. Pro Pr)
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