The Meaning of Proverbs 5:7 Explained

Proverbs 5:7

KJV: Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

YLT: And now, ye sons, hearken to me, And turn not from sayings of my mouth.

Darby: And now, children, hearken unto me, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

ASV: Now therefore, my'sons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Hear  me now therefore, O ye children,  and depart  not from the words  of my mouth. 

What does Proverbs 5:7 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 5:1-14 - Quicksands! Keep Off!
It is a matter for great thankfulness that the Bible, which is God's book rather than man's, deals so strongly and wisely with one great evil, which has manifested itself in every age and in every state of society. It speaks boldly and plainly; and all who will meditate on its teaching with a prayerful heart, will be saved from many a painful snare. If we fall it will only be due to our having refused to heed the voice that speaks to us from paragraphs like these.
The one great caution that we must all observe is in the control of our thoughts. The soul must never lie open to the tide of suggestive thoughts that break along its beach. As of old the watchman kept the gate of the medieval city so soon as darkness fell, so must the purity of God keep watch and ward at eye-gate, ear-gate, and touch-gate, lest some emissary of evil gain entrance and betray the citadel. Let Christ be the custodian of thy soul, whether thou be man or woman, old or young, and let Him impart to thee His own divine and human purity. [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Proverbs 5:7 mean?

Therefore now [my] children hear me and not do depart from the words of my mouth
וְעַתָּ֣ה בָ֭נִים שִׁמְעוּ־ לִ֑י וְאַל־ תָּ֝ס֗וּרוּ מֵאִמְרֵי־ פִֽי

וְעַתָּ֣ה  Therefore  now 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
בָ֭נִים  [my]  children 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
שִׁמְעוּ־  hear 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
לִ֑י  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
וְאַל־  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: אַל  
Sense: not, no, nor, neither, nothing (as wish or preference).
תָּ֝ס֗וּרוּ  do  depart 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: סוּר 
Sense: to turn aside, depart.
מֵאִמְרֵי־  from  the  words 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֵמֶר 
Sense: utterance, speech, word, saying, promise, command.
פִֽי  of  my  mouth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.