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 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 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 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 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 22:14
Legacy Standard Bible
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:14 Lit there
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 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 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 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.
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