Proverbs 2:16-20
Legacy Standard Bible
16 To deliver you from the [a](A)strange woman,
From the [b](B)foreign woman who flatters with her words;
17 Who forsakes the close (C)companion of her youth
And forgets the (D)covenant of her God;
18 For (E)her house [c]sinks down to death
And her tracks descend to the [d]dead;
19 All (F)who go to her will not return,
And they will not reach the (G)paths of life.
20 So that you will (H)walk in the way of good men
And keep to the (I)paths of the righteous.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:16 A forbidden woman, outside of the marriage covenant; an adulteress; parallel with foreign woman; so in Prov
- Proverbs 2:16 An unfamiliar woman, alien to the marriage covenant; parallel with strange woman
- Proverbs 2:18 Lit bows down
- Proverbs 2:18 Lit departed spirits
Proverbs 2:16-20
New International Version
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)
20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:17 Or covenant of her God
Proverbs 5
Legacy Standard Bible
Warning Against Adultery
5 My son, (A)pay attention to my wisdom,
(B)Incline your ear to my discernment;
2 That you may (C)keep discretion
And that your (D)lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips of a (E)strange woman (F)drip honey
And (G)smoother than oil is her [a]speech;
4 But her end is (H)bitter as wormwood,
(I)Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet (J)go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol,
6 Lest she watch the (K)path of life;
Her tracks are (L)unstable, she (M)does not know it.
7 (N)So now, my sons, listen to me
And (O)do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
8 (P)Keep your way far from her
And do not go near the (Q)door of her house,
9 Lest you give your splendor to others
And your years to the cruel one;
10 Lest strangers be satisfied by your strength
And by your painful labor, those in the house of a foreigner;
11 And you groan at your [b]end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
12 And you say, “How I have (R)hated discipline!
And my heart (S)spurned reproof!
13 I have not listened to the voice of my (T)instructors,
And I have not inclined my ear to my teachers!
14 I was almost in utter ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern
And [c]fresh water from your own well.
16 Should your (U)springs be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for you alone,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your (V)fountain be blessed,
And (W)be glad in the (X)wife of your youth.
19 As a loving (Y)hind and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be [d]intoxicated always with her love.
20 So why should you, my son, be intoxicated with a (Z)strange woman
And embrace the bosom of a (AA)foreign woman?
21 For the (AB)ways of a man are before the eyes of Yahweh,
And He (AC)watches all his tracks.
22 His (AD)own iniquities will capture him who is the wicked one,
And with the cords of his sin he will be held fast.
23 He will (AE)die for lack of discipline,
And in the abundance of his [e]folly he will [f]stumble in intoxication.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:3 Lit palate
- Proverbs 5:11 Or latter
- Proverbs 5:15 Lit flowing
- Proverbs 5:19 Or exhilarated
- Proverbs 5:23 A lack of wisdom due to negligence or carelessness; the activity of an ignorant fool
- Proverbs 5:23 Or go astray
Proverbs 5
New International Version
Warning Against Adultery
5 My son,(A) pay attention to my wisdom,
turn your ear to my words(B) of insight,
2 that you may maintain discretion
and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;(C)
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,(D)
sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.(E)
6 She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.(F)
7 Now then, my sons, listen(G) to me;
do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her,(H)
do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you lose your honor to others
and your dignity[a] to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich the house of another.(I)
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!(J)
13 I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble(K)
in the assembly of God’s people.”(L)
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountain(M) be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.(N)
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer(O)—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:9 Or years
Proverbs 6:24-35
Legacy Standard Bible
24 To (A)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.
25 (B)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her (C)eyelids.
26 For (D)on account of [a]a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,
And [b]an adulteress (E)hunts for the precious [c]life.
27 Can a man [d]take fire in his bosom
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can a man walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
29 So is the one who (F)goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her (G)will not [e]go unpunished.
30 [f]Men do not despise a thief if he steals
To (H)fill [g]himself when he is hungry;
31 But when he is found, he must (I)repay sevenfold;
He must give all the [h]substance of his house.
32 The one who commits adultery with a woman is (J)lacking a heart of wisdom;
He who would (K)destroy his soul does it.
33 Wounds and disgrace he will find,
And his reproach will not be blotted out.
34 For (L)jealousy [i]enrages a man,
And he will not spare in the (M)day of vengeance.
35 He will not [j]accept any ransom,
He will not be willing though you give many bribes.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:26 Or a woman who is a harlot
- Proverbs 6:26 Or a woman of another man
- Proverbs 6:26 Lit soul
- Proverbs 6:27 Lit snatch up
- Proverbs 6:29 Lit be innocent
- Proverbs 6:30 Or Do not men...?; lit They do not
- Proverbs 6:30 Lit his soul
- Proverbs 6:31 Or wealth
- Proverbs 6:34 Lit is the rage of
- Proverbs 6:35 Lit lift up the face of
Proverbs 6:24-35
New International Version
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.(A)
25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes.
26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
but another man’s wife preys on your very life.(B)
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?
29 So is he who sleeps(C) with another man’s wife;(D)
no one who touches her will go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,(E)
though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adultery(F) has no sense;(G)
whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
and his shame will never(H) be wiped away.
Proverbs 7
Legacy Standard Bible
The Adulteress’ Trap
7 My son, (A)keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
2 (B)Keep my commandments and live,
And my [a]law (C)as the [b]apple of your eye.
3 (D)Bind them on your fingers;
(E)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend;
5 In order to keep you from the strange woman,
From the foreign woman who [c]flatters with her words.
6 For (F)at the window of my house
I looked out (G)through my lattice,
7 And I saw among the (H)simple,
And discerned among the [d]sons
A young man (I)lacking a heart of wisdom,
8 Passing through the street near (J)her corner;
And he strides along the way to (K)her house,
9 In the (L)twilight, in the evening of that day,
In the [e]middle of the night, and in the thick darkness.
10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
(M)Dressed as a harlot and [f]cunning of heart.
11 She is (N)boisterous and rebellious,
Her (O)feet do not dwell at home;
12 Stepping in the streets, stepping (P)in the squares,
And near every corner she (Q)lies in wait.
13 So she seizes him and kisses him
[g]And with a (R)brazen face she says to him:
14 “The sacrifices of (S)peace offerings are with me;
Today I (T)paid my vows.
15 Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your face earnestly, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with (U)coverings,
With colored (V)linens of Egypt.
17 I have sprinkled my bed
With (W)myrrh, aloes, and (X)cinnamon.
18 Come, then, let us drink our fill as lovers until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with the pleasures of love.
19 For [h]my husband is not at home,
He has gone on a journey far away;
20 He took a (Y)bag of silver in his hand,
On the day of the full moon he will come home.”
21 With her abundant [i]persuasions she entices him;
With her (Z)flattering lips she drives him to herself.
22 He suddenly follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or [j]as one in fetters to the discipline of an ignorant fool,
23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a (AA)bird hastens to the snare,
And he does not know that it will cost him his [k]soul.
24 So now, my sons, (AB)listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart (AC)go astray into her ways,
Do not wander into her pathways.
26 For many are the slain whom she has cast down,
And (AD)numerous are all those killed by her.
27 The ways to Sheol are in her (AE)house,
Descending to the chambers of death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:2 Or instruction
- Proverbs 7:2 Lit pupil
- Proverbs 7:5 Lit is smooth
- Proverbs 7:7 Or youths
- Proverbs 7:9 Lit pupil (of the eye)
- Proverbs 7:10 Lit guarded
- Proverbs 7:13 Lit She makes bold her face and says
- Proverbs 7:19 Lit the man
- Proverbs 7:21 Lit learning
- Proverbs 7:22 Some ancient versions as a stag goes into a trap
- Proverbs 7:23 Or life
Proverbs 7
New International Version
Warning Against the Adulterous Woman
7 My son,(A) keep my words
and store up my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and you will live;(B)
guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.(C)
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and to insight, “You are my relative.”
5 They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words.(D)
6 At the window of my house
I looked down through the lattice.
7 I saw among the simple,
I noticed among the young men,
a youth who had no sense.(E)
8 He was going down the street near her corner,
walking along in the direction of her house
9 at twilight,(F) as the day was fading,
as the dark of night set in.
10 Then out came a woman to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
11 (She is unruly(G) and defiant,
her feet never stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the squares,
at every corner she lurks.)(H)
13 She took hold of him(I) and kissed him
and with a brazen face she said:(J)
14 “Today I fulfilled my vows,
and I have food from my fellowship offering(K) at home.
15 So I came out to meet you;
I looked for you and have found you!
16 I have covered my bed
with colored linens from Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed(L)
with myrrh,(M) aloes and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning;
let’s enjoy ourselves with love!(N)
19 My husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey.
20 He took his purse filled with money
and will not be home till full moon.”
21 With persuasive words she led him astray;
she seduced him with her smooth talk.(O)
22 All at once he followed her
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer[a] stepping into a noose[b](P)
23 till an arrow pierces(Q) his liver,
like a bird darting into a snare,
little knowing it will cost him his life.(R)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:22 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew fool
- Proverbs 7:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
Proverbs 9:13-18
Legacy Standard Bible
13 The woman of [a]foolishness is (A)boisterous,
A woman of simplicity, and (B)does not know anything.
14 She sits at the doorway of her house,
On a seat by (C)the high places of the city,
15 To call to those who pass by that way,
Who are making their paths straight:
16 “(D)Whoever is simple, let him turn in here,”
And to him who lacks a heart of wisdom she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
And (E)bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the [b]dead are there,
That those she called are in the (F)depths of Sheol.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 9:13 Insolent foolishness of one who fails in wisdom due to willful sin
- Proverbs 9:18 Lit departed spirits
Proverbs 9:13-18
New International Version
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)
Proverbs 22:14
Legacy Standard Bible
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:14 Lit there
Proverbs 22:14
New International Version
Proverbs 23:26-28
Legacy Standard Bible
26 (A)Give your heart to me, my son,
And let your eyes [a](B)delight in my ways.
27 For a harlot is a (C)deep pit
And [b]a (D)foreign woman is a narrow well.
28 Surely she (E)lies in wait as a robber,
And adds to the treacherous among men.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:26 Or observe
- Proverbs 23:27 Or an adulterous, cf. Prov 2:16
Proverbs 23:26-28
New International Version
Saying 18
Proverbs 29:3
Legacy Standard Bible
3 A man who (A)loves wisdom makes his father glad,
But he who (B)befriends harlots destroys his wealth.
Proverbs 29:3
New International Version
Proverbs 30:20
Legacy Standard Bible
20 This is the way of an (A)adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wrong.”
Proverbs 30:20
New International Version
20 “This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’(A)
Proverbs 31:2-3
Legacy Standard Bible
2 What, O my son?
And what, O (A)son of my womb?
And what, O son of my (B)vows?
3 (C)Do not give your excellence to women,
Or your ways to that which (D)blots out kings.
Proverbs 31:2-3
New International Version
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