Proverbs 5:10 warns that a person who gives in to a destructive relationship can end up losing the fruit of their hard work to others. The verse is a father’s warning to his son about the cost of unfaithfulness, and it uses the picture of wealth and labor being carried off to make the danger concrete. It is spoken by a wise father to his sons, urging them to stay away from a seductive and dangerous woman.
Lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man’s house.
Proverbs 5:10 (WEB)
What Proverbs 5:10 Means
The verse begins with “lest,” which signals that it is a warning about what will happen if the advice is ignored. The phrase “strangers feast on your wealth” pictures outsiders sitting at a table you prepared, eating what you earned. In the ancient world, wealth was often measured in land, livestock, grain and household goods, so the image would have been immediately understood as a real loss of substance.
The second phrase, “your labors enrich another man’s house,” shifts the picture from food to the household itself. Your years of toil, your skill and your effort end up building someone else’s estate while your own family is left with less. Together the two images describe a slow drain on everything a person has worked to build.
It is important to read this verse carefully. It does not promise that every wise person will be rich or that every foolish person will lose everything. It is a general observation about the way reckless choices erode what is good in life, and it presents that erosion as a consequence the reader should want to avoid.
The Context of Proverbs 5:10
The Book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings traditionally attributed to Solomon, with other contributors named in later chapters. Its purpose is to teach young people how to live skillfully before God, and chapter 5 is one of several sections where a parent addresses a son directly. The audience is young men entering adulthood, facing temptations they may not yet recognize as dangerous.
The verses just before and after this passage make the warning sharper. Verses 7 to 9 urge the son to keep his distance from the woman’s house and not to give his honor and years to a cruel person. Verses 11 to 13 describe the regret that follows when a person finally realizes how much was lost, groaning at the end and wishing they had listened to instruction. Read in that setting, verse 10 is one step in a sequence of warning, consequence and regret, which shows that the father is pleading for prevention rather than cure.
Key Phrases in Proverbs 5:10
Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.
(WEB)
This verse urges the reader to guard the heart, since the choices that shape a life begin from within. It deepens the warning of Proverbs 5:10 by showing where the protection must start.
Proverbs 6:26
For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread. The adulteress hunts for your precious life.
(WEB)
This verse reinforces the same concern about the high price of adultery and the way it can cost a person far more than they expect. It sits naturally beside the earlier warning about losing wealth and labor.
A Short Prayer From Proverbs 5:10
Lord, you see the places in my life where I am tempted to spend what you have given me on things that do not build up my home. Help me to recognize the quiet drains on my time, money and energy before they cost me more than I can afford. Give me wisdom to listen to those who teach me, and the courage to turn away from anything that would enrich others at the expense of the people you have placed in my care. Guard my steps and guide my labor toward what is good. Amen.