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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But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;

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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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26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

28 She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.

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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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14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.

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

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That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

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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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10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

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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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24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

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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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13 A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

14 For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,

15 To call passengers who go right on their ways:

16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

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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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25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.

26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.

27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

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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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32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

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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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29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

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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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20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

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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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For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:

But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

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

Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

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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

16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

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