But he refused and said to his master's wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and (A)he has put everything that he has in my charge.

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But he refused.(A) “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.(B)

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26 My son, give me your heart,
    and let your eyes observe[a] my ways.
27 For a prostitute is (A)a deep pit;
    (B)an adulteress[b] is a narrow (C)well.
28 (D)She lies in wait like a robber
    and increases the traitors among mankind.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:26 Or delight in
  2. Proverbs 23:27 Hebrew a foreign woman

Saying 18

26 My son,(A) give me your heart
    and let your eyes delight in my ways,(B)
27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,(C)
    and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Like a bandit she lies in wait(D)
    and multiplies the unfaithful among men.

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14 The mouth of (A)forbidden[a] women is (B)a deep pit;
    (C)he with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:14 Hebrew strange

14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;(A)
    a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.(B)

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to keep you from (A)the forbidden[a] woman,
    from (B)the adulteress[b] with her smooth words.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew strange
  2. Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew the foreign woman

They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words.(A)

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10 My son, if sinners (A)entice you,
    do not consent.

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10 My son, if sinful men entice(A) you,
    do not give in(B) to them.(C)

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24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
    but (A)there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

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24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.(A)

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The Way of Folly

13 (A)The woman Folly is (B)loud;
    she is seductive[a] and (C)knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house;
    she takes a seat on (D)the highest places of the town,
15 calling to those who pass by,
    who are (E)going straight on their way,
16 (F)“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
    And to him who lacks sense she says,
17 (G)“Stolen water is sweet,
    and (H)bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know (I)that the dead[b] are there,
    that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 9:13 Or full of simpleness
  2. Proverbs 9:18 Hebrew Rephaim

13 Folly is an unruly woman;(A)
    she is simple and knows nothing.(B)
14 She sits at the door of her house,
    on a seat at the highest point of the city,(C)
15 calling out(D) to those who pass by,
    who go straight on their way,
16     “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense(E) she says,
17     “Stolen water is sweet;
    food eaten in secret is delicious!(F)
18 But little do they know that the dead are there,
    that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.(G)

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25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
    do not stray into her paths,
26 for many a victim has she laid low,
    and all her slain are (A)a mighty throng.
27 Her house is (B)the way to Sheol,
    going down to the chambers of death.

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25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways
    or stray into her paths.(A)
26 Many are the victims she has brought down;
    her slain are a mighty throng.
27 Her house is a highway to the grave,
    leading down to the chambers of death.(B)

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32 He who commits adultery lacks sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.
33 He will get wounds and dishonor,
    and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

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32 But a man who commits adultery(A) has no sense;(B)
    whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
    and his shame will never(C) be wiped away.

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29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
    none who touches her (A)will go unpunished.

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29 So is he who sleeps(A) with another man’s wife;(B)
    no one who touches her will go unpunished.

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Warnings Against Adultery

20 (A)My son, keep your father's commandment,
    (B)and forsake not your mother's teaching.
21 (C)Bind them on your heart always;
    (D)tie them around your neck.
22 (E)When you walk, they[a] will lead you;
    (F)when you lie down, they will (G)watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is (H)a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the (I)reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the evil woman,[b]
    from the smooth tongue of (J)the adulteress.[c]
25 (K)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her (L)eyelashes;

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse
  2. Proverbs 6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
  3. Proverbs 6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman

Warning Against Adultery

20 My son,(A) keep your father’s command
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(B)
21 Bind them always on your heart;
    fasten them around your neck.(C)
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
    when you sleep, they will watch over you;
    when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For this command is a lamp,
    this teaching is a light,(D)
and correction and instruction
    are the way to life,(E)
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
    from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.(F)

25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
    or let her captivate you with her eyes.

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For the lips of (A)a forbidden[a] woman drip honey,
    and her speech[b] is (B)smoother than oil,
but in the end she is (C)bitter as (D)wormwood,
    (E)sharp as (F)a two-edged sword.
Her feet (G)go down to death;
    her steps follow the path to[c] Sheol;
she (H)does not ponder the path of life;
    her ways wander, and she does not know it.

And (I)now, O sons, listen to me,
    and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
Keep your way far from her,
    and do not go near the door of her house,

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew strange; also verse 20
  2. Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew palate
  3. Proverbs 5:5 Hebrew lay hold of

For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil;(A)
but in the end she is bitter as gall,(B)
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.(C)
She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.(D)

Now then, my sons, listen(E) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
Keep to a path far from her,(F)
    do not go near the door of her house,

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16 So (A)you will be delivered from the forbidden[a] woman,
    from (B)the adulteress[b] with (C)her smooth words,
17 who forsakes (D)the companion of her youth
    and forgets (E)the covenant of her God;
18 (F)for her house sinks down to death,
    and her paths to the departed;[c]
19 none who go to her come back,
    nor do they regain the paths of life.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:16 Hebrew strange
  2. Proverbs 2:16 Hebrew foreign woman
  3. Proverbs 2:18 Hebrew to the Rephaim

16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,(A)
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
    and ignored the covenant she made before God.[a](B)
18 Surely her house leads down to death
    and her paths to the spirits of the dead.(C)
19 None who go to her return
    or attain the paths of life.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:17 Or covenant of her God