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
Evangelical Heritage Version
Wisdom Protects You From the Adulterous Woman
16 Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman,[a]
from the unfaithful woman[b] with her seductive words,
17 who abandons the husband of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God.
18 So she sinks down to death, which becomes her house.[c]
Her way of life leads down to the spirits of the dead.
19 All who enter her house never return.
They never reach the paths of life.
Admonition to Live Righteously
20 This is how to walk in the way of good people,
how to stay on the paths of the righteous.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:16 Literally from the strange woman, that is, one who is married to another man
- Proverbs 2:16 Literally from the foreign woman, that is, one who is married to another man
- Proverbs 2:18 The line is difficult and the translation is uncertain.
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
Evangelical Heritage Version
Seventh Address to a Son:
Wisdom Teaches You to Avoid Adultery
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom.
Open your ears to my understanding,
2 so that you may hold on to insight,
so your lips may guard knowledge,
3 because the lips of an immoral woman drip with honey,
and her words are[a] as smooth as olive oil,
4 but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood[b]
and as sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death.
Her steps lead to hell.[c]
6 She gives no thought to the path of life.[d]
Her ways wander, but she doesn’t realize it.
7 Now, you sons, listen to me.
Do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her.
Do not go near the doorway of her house.
9 If you do, you will give your wealth to others
and your years to a cruel person.
10 If you do, your work will satisfy strangers,
and the results of your labor will end up in another man’s house.
11 You will groan when your end comes,
when your body and flesh are consumed.
12 Then you will say, “Oh, how I hated discipline,
and my heart despised warnings!
13 I did not listen to my teachers’ voices,
and I did not open my ears to hear my instructors.
14 I soon[e] reached total ruin
in the midst of the assembly of the community.”
Encouragement to Faithfulness in Marriage
15 Drink water from your own cistern.
Drink running water from your own well.
16 Why should the water from your springs flow out into the street,
your streams of water into the public squares?
17 They should be yours, yours alone.
They are not for strangers to share with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed.
Obtain your joy from the wife you married in your youth,
19 who is a loving doe and a graceful deer.
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times.
Always be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why should you be led astray, my son, by an immoral woman?
Why embrace a woman who is not your wife?
21 For the ways of a man are in front of the eyes of the Lord,
and he weighs all of his paths.
22 The evil deeds of the wicked man will capture him,
and he will be bound by the ropes of his sin.
23 He will die for lack of discipline,
and he will go astray because of his great stupidity.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:3 Literally her palate is
- Proverbs 5:4 Wormwood is a toxic, bitter-tasting drink (absinthe).
- Proverbs 5:5 Or the grave. The Hebrew word is sheol.
- Proverbs 5:6 Or she does not make the paths of life level
- Proverbs 5:14 Or almost
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
Evangelical Heritage Version
24 They guard you from an evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of a woman who is not your wife.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart.
Do not let her captivate you with her eyes.
26 A prostitute costs you a loaf of bread,
but a married woman stalks your precious life.
27 Can a man place fire on his lap
without burning his clothes?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So it is with the man who goes to his neighbor’s wife.
No one who touches her will be forgiven.
30 No one despises a thief when he steals
to satisfy his hunger when he is starving,
31 but when he is caught, he will have to repay seven times as much.
He will have to give up all the wealth of his house.
32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks sense.
He who does it destroys himself.
33 He will find disease and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be wiped out,
34 because jealousy ignites a husband’s anger,
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not accept any amount as a payment.
He will not relent, even if you increase your offer.
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
Evangelical Heritage Version
Tenth Address to a Son:
Wisdom Protects You From Adultery and Death
7 My son, guard what I say.
Keep my commands with you.
2 Obey my commands so that you may live.
Protect my teachings like the pupil of your eye.
3 Tie them to your fingers.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to Wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call Understanding your relative.[a]
5 She will keep you safe from an immoral woman,
from an unfaithful woman and her seductive words.
Wisdom’s Warning
6 At a window of my house, I looked out through the lattice.
7 I was watching the gullible[b] people.
Among the young men I noticed a youth without sense.
8 He was crossing the street near her corner,
strolling along the road to her house,
9 in the twilight, in the evening of the day,
when the darkness of the night was coming.[c]
10 Suddenly a woman meets him.
She is dressed like a prostitute with a scheming heart!
11 She is loud and rebellious.
Her feet will not stay home.
12 One moment she is in the street.
The next moment she is in the public square.
She is on the prowl near every corner.
13 She grabs him and kisses him.
With a brazen face she says,
14 “I have food from fellowship offerings.
Today I fulfilled my vows.
15 That is why I came out to meet you.
I came eagerly to seek you,
and now I have found you!
16 I have covered my couch with a bedspread,
with colored cloth made of Egyptian yarn.
17 I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love[d] until morning.
Let’s enjoy making love.
19 Look, my husband isn’t home.
He has gone on a long trip.
20 He took a bag of silver with him.
He will not come home till the next full moon.”
21 She deceives him with enticing words.
With smooth lips she seduces him.
22 He follows right after her,
like a steer going to slaughter,
like a deer prancing into a noose,[e]
23 until an arrow pierces its liver,
like a bird darting into a trap.
He does not realize this will cost him his life.
24 Now, you sons, listen to me.
Pay attention to the words from my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart turn in her direction.
Do not wander on her pathways,
26 because she has brought down many victims.
Those she has killed are countless.
27 Her house is on the road to the grave.[f]
It goes down to the chambers of death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:4 Or close friend
- Proverbs 7:7 Or naïve
- Proverbs 7:9 Literally in the pupil of the night and darkness
- Proverbs 7:18 The Hebrew word refers to physical expressions of love.
- Proverbs 7:22 The ancient versions support the translation. The Hebrew text reads like an anklet to the discipline of a fool. Reading the word for fool as the very similar word for deer leads to the translation above. The context seems to require the trapping of an animal.
- Proverbs 7:27 Or on the highway to hell. The Hebrew word is sheol.
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
Evangelical Heritage Version
Lady Folly’s Banquet
13 The woman Folly is boisterous.
She is deluded. She knows nothing.
14 She sits at the doorway of her house,
on a throne on the heights of the city,
15 in order to call to those who pass by on the street,
those who are simply going along on their way,
16 “Whoever is gullible, let him turn in here.”
To someone who lacks sense she says,
17 “Stolen waters are sweet,
and food eaten in secret is delicious.”
18 But he does not know that the souls of the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of hell.[a]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 9:18 Or the grave
Proverbs 22:14
Legacy Standard Bible
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:14 Lit there
Proverbs 22:14
Evangelical Heritage Version
14 The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit.
The man who is under the Lord’s wrath will fall 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 23:26-28
Evangelical Heritage Version
26 My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes be pleased with my ways,
27 because a prostitute is a deep pit,
and an immoral woman is a narrow well.
28 She is also like a robber waiting to ambush someone,
and she multiplies unfaithful men among the people.
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
Evangelical Heritage Version
3 A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father,
but one who visits prostitutes 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 30:20
Evangelical Heritage Version
20 This is the way of a woman who commits adultery:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
and she says, “I haven’t done anything 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.
Proverbs 31:2-3
Evangelical Heritage Version
2 What are you doing,[a] my son!
What are you doing, son from my womb!
What are you doing, son of my vows!
3 Do not give your strength to women.
Do not give your ways to those who destroy kings.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 31:2 The Hebrew has only the single word What.
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