Proverbs 5:20-21

5:20 But why should you be captivated, ¹  my son, by an adulteress,

and embrace the bosom of a different woman? ² 

5:21 For the ways of a person ³  are in front of the Lord’s eyes,

and the Lord ⁴  weighs ⁵  all that person’s ⁶  paths.

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¹ tn In the interrogative clause the imperfect has a deliberative nuance.

² tn Heb “foreigner” (so ASV, NASB), but this does not mean that the woman is non-Israelite. This term describes a woman who is outside the moral boundaries of the covenant community – she is another man’s wife, but since she acts with moral abandonment she is called “foreign.”

³ tn Heb “man.”

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn BDB 814 s.v. פָּלַס 2 suggests that the participle מְפַּלֵּס (mÿpalles) means “to make level [or, straight].” As one’s ways are in front of the eyes of the Lord, they become straight or right. It could be translated “weighs” since it is a denominative from the noun for “balance, scale”; the Lord weighs or examines the actions.

⁶ tn Heb “all his”; the referent (the person mentioned in the first half of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.