Proverbs 5:10

Study note

Setting — The father addresses his son within a wisdom instruction warning against illicit sexual relations. He speaks at the precise moment of cautioning the listener about the future financial and physical depletion that follows such choices.

The words — The terms זָרִים (zarim) and נָכְרִי (nakhrî) literally mean "strangers" and "a foreigner." They denote an outsider who will ultimately consume the son's accumulated wealth and labor.

The thread — The motif of outsiders draining personal strength appears in Hosea 7:9 and Proverbs 31:3. The warning against irreversible loss of resources parallels the unrecoverable ransom described in Proverbs 6:35.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to acknowledge that wasted energy directly enriches uninvited parties rather than the self. It demands the practical choice to conserve one's vigor and wealth by avoiding destructive paths.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.