Proverbs 2:16-20
World English Bible
16 to deliver you from the strange woman,
even from the foreigner who flatters with her words,
17 who forsakes the friend of her youth,
and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house leads down to death,
her paths to the departed spirits.
19 None who go to her return again,
neither do they attain to the paths of life.
20 So you may walk in the way of good men,
and keep the paths of the righteous.
Proverbs 2:16-20
Lexham English Bible
16 in order to deliver you from a strange woman,
from a foreign woman who flatters[a] with her sayings,
17 she who forsakes the partner of her youth
and has forgotten the covenant of her God,
18 for her house sinks to death,
and to the dead[b] are her paths.
19 Of all who go to her, none shall return,
nor do they reach paths of life.
20 So that you will walk on the road of those who are good,
and the paths of those who are righteous you shall keep.
Notas al pie
- Proverbs 2:16 Or “makes smooth”
- Proverbs 2:18 Or “Rephaim”
Proverbs 5
World English Bible
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom.
Turn your ear to my understanding,
2 that you may maintain discretion,
that your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey.
Her mouth is smoother than oil,
4 but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood,
and as sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death.
Her steps lead straight to Sheol.[a]
6 She gives no thought to the way of life.
Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it.
7 Now therefore, my sons, listen to me.
Don’t depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove your way far from her.
Don’t come near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your honor to others,
and your years to the cruel one;
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth,
and your labors enrich another man’s house.
11 You will groan at your latter end,
when your flesh and your body are consumed,
12 and say, “How I have hated instruction,
and my heart despised reproof.
13 I haven’t obeyed the voice of my teachers,
nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!
14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin,
among the gathered assembly.”
15 Drink water out of your own cistern,
running water out of your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be for yourself alone,
not for strangers with you.
18 Let your spring be blessed.
Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 A loving doe and a graceful deer—
let her breasts satisfy you at all times.
Be captivated always with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress?
Why embrace the bosom of another?
21 For the ways of man are before Yahweh’s eyes.
He examines all his paths.
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him.
The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
23 He will die for lack of instruction.
In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.
Notas al pie
- 5:5 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Proverbs 5
Lexham English Bible
5 My child, be attentive to my wisdom,
and to my understanding incline your ear;
2 in order to keep prudence,
and knowledge will guard your lips.
3 For the lips of the strange woman will drip honey,
and smoother than oil is her mouth.[a]
4 But her end is bitter as the wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps take hold of Sheol.[b]
6 She does not observe[c] the path of life;
her ways wander, and she does not know it.
Do Not Commit Adultery Against Wisdom
7 Now, O children, listen to me;
do not depart from the sayings of my mouth.
8 Keep your paths far from her,
and do not go near to the door of her house,
9 lest you give your honor to the others,
and your years to the merciless,
10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
11 and you groan at your end,
when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and say “How I hated discipline,
and I despised reproof!”
13 and “I did not listen to the voice of my teachers,
and I did not incline my ear to my instructors!
14 I was almost at utter[d] ruin[e]
in the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern
and flowing waters from inside your own well.
16 Shall your springs be scattered outward?
In the streets, shall there be streams of water?
17 May they be yours alone,
and not for strangers who are with you.
18 May your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife[f] of your youth.
19 She is a deer of love and a doe of grace;
may her breasts satisfy you always;[g]
by her love may you be intoxicated continually.
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my child, by a strange woman,
and embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
21 For before the eyes of Yahweh are human ways,[h]
and all his paths he examines.
22 His iniquities shall ensnare him, the evildoer,
and in the vanity of his sin he shall be caught.
23 He shall die for lack of[i] discipline,
and in the greatness of his folly he shall be lost.
Notas al pie
- Proverbs 5:3 Or “palate”
- Proverbs 5:5 A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
- Proverbs 5:6 Or “examine, weigh”
- Proverbs 5:14 Or “all, every, whole”
- Proverbs 5:14 Or “evil”
- Proverbs 5:18 Or “woman”
- Proverbs 5:19 Literally “at all time”
- Proverbs 5:21 Literally “the ways of man/humankind”
- Proverbs 5:23 Literally “with there is no”
Proverbs 6:24-35
World English Bible
24 to keep you from the immoral woman,
from the flattery of the wayward wife’s tongue.
25 Don’t lust after her beauty in your heart,
neither let her captivate you with her eyelids.
26 For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread.
The adulteress hunts for your precious life.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap,
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one walk on hot coals,
and his feet not be scorched?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife.
Whoever touches her will not be unpunished.
30 Men don’t despise a thief
if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry;
31 but if he is found, he shall restore seven times.
He shall give all the wealth of his house.
32 He who commits adultery with a woman is void of understanding.
He who does it destroys his own soul.
33 He will get wounds and dishonor.
His reproach will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy arouses the fury of the husband.
He won’t spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He won’t regard any ransom,
neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts.
Proverbs 6:24-35
Lexham English Bible
24 in order to preserve you from an evil woman,[a]
from the smoothness of the tongue of an adulteress.[b]
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart;
may she not capture you with her eyelashes.
26 For the price of a woman, a prostitute,[c] is the price of a loaf of bread,
but the woman belonging to a man[d] hunts precious life.
Warning Against Relations with a Married Woman
27 Can a man carry fire in his lap,
and his clothes not burn?
28 If a man walks upon the hot coals,
will his feet not be burned?
29 Thus, he who goes to the wife of his neighbor,
any who touches her shall not go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief when he steals
to fill himself[e] when he is hungry.
31 But if he is found, he will pay sevenfold,
every possession of his house he shall give.
32 He who commits adultery with a woman lacks sense,[f]
he destroys himself[g] who does it.
33 A wound and dishonor he will find,
and his disgrace will not be wiped out.
34 For jealousy is the fury of a husband,
and he will not show restraint on the day of revenge.
35 He will not accept any compensation,[h]
and he will not be willing, though the bribe is large.
Notas al pie
- Proverbs 6:24 Or “wife”
- Proverbs 6:24 Literally “a foreign woman”
- Proverbs 6:26 Or “whore”
- Proverbs 6:26 Literally “the woman of a man”
- Proverbs 6:30 Or “soul,” or “inner self”
- Proverbs 6:32 Literally “heart”
- Proverbs 6:32 Or “his soul,” or “his life”
- Proverbs 6:35 Literally “the face of any compensation”
Proverbs 7
World English Bible
7 My son, keep my words.
Lay up my commandments within you.
2 Keep my commandments and live!
Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Tell wisdom, “You are my sister.”
Call understanding your relative,
5 that they may keep you from the strange woman,
from the foreigner who flatters with her words.
6 For at the window of my house,
I looked out through my lattice.
7 I saw among the simple ones.
I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding,
8 passing through the street near her corner,
he went the way to her house,
9 in the twilight, in the evening of the day,
in the middle of the night and in the darkness.
10 Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute,
and with crafty intent.
11 She is loud and defiant.
Her feet don’t stay in her house.
12 Now she is in the streets, now in the squares,
and lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him, and kissed him.
With an impudent face she said to him:
14 “Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me.
Today I have paid my vows.
15 Therefore I came out to meet you,
to diligently seek your face,
and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry,
with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s take our fill of loving until the morning.
Let’s solace ourselves with loving.
19 For my husband isn’t at home.
He has gone on a long journey.
20 He has taken a bag of money with him.
He will come home at the full moon.”
21 With persuasive words, she led him astray.
With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.
22 He followed her immediately,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
as a fool stepping into a noose.
23 Until an arrow strikes through his liver,
as a bird hurries to the snare,
and doesn’t know that it will cost his life.
24 Now therefore, sons, listen to me.
Pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Don’t let your heart turn to her ways.
Don’t go astray in her paths,
26 for she has thrown down many wounded.
Yes, all her slain are a mighty army.
27 Her house is the way to Sheol,[a]
going down to the rooms of death.
Notas al pie
- 7:27 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Proverbs 7
Lexham English Bible
Warning Against the Strange Woman
7 My child, guard my sayings;
store my commandments with you.
2 Keep my commands and live,
and my teaching like the apple of your eye.[a]
3 Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom,[b] “you are my sister,”
and you shall call insight,[c] “intimate friend.”[d]
5 In order to guard yourself from an adulteress,[e]
from the foreigner who makes her words smooth.[f]
6 For at the window of my house,
through my lattice, I looked down.
7 And I saw among the simple,
I observed among the youth,
a young man lacking sense,[g]
8 passing on the street at[h] her corner,
and he takes the road to her house,
9 at twilight, at the day’s evening,
in the midst of night and the darkness.
10 Then behold! A woman comes to meet him
with the garment of a prostitute[i] and a secret heart.[j]
11 She is loud and stubborn;
her feet do not stay at her house.
12 Now in the street, now in the square,
at[k] every corner she lies in wait.
13 She took hold of [l] him and kissed him.
Her face was impudent, and she said to him,
14 “Sacrifices of peace offerings are upon me;
today[m] I completed my vows.
15 So[n] I have come out to meet you,
to seek your face, and I have found you.
16 With coverings I have adorned my couch,
spreads of the linen of Egypt;
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love making,
until the morning let us delight in love.
19 For there is no man[o] in his home;
he has gone on a long journey.[p]
20 The bag of money he took in his hand,
for on the day of the full moon he will come home.”
21 She persuades him with the greatness of her teachings;
with her smooth lips she compels him.
22 He goes after her suddenly;
like an ox to the slaughter he goes,
and like a stag to the instruction of a fool,
23 until an arrow pierces his entrails,[q]
like a bird rushing into a snare,
but he does not know that it will cost him his life.[r]
Reiteration of the Warning Against a Strange Woman
24 And now, my children, listen to me,
and be attentive to the sayings of my mouth.
25 May your heart not turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her path.
26 For many slain she has laid low,
and countless[s] are all of her killings.
27 The ways of Sheol[t] are her house,
descending to chambers of death.
Notas al pie
- Proverbs 7:2 A single word meaning “pupil of the eye”
- Proverbs 7:4 Hebrew “the wisdom”
- Proverbs 7:4 Hebrew “the insight”
- Proverbs 7:4 Literally “one who is known.” To “know” is often a euphemism for intercourse. Therefore “intimate friend” may also be read “lover.”
- Proverbs 7:5 Literally “a strange woman”
- Proverbs 7:5 Literally “causes to be smooth her words”
- Proverbs 7:7 Literally “heart”
- Proverbs 7:8 Literally “at the place of”
- Proverbs 7:10 Or “whore”
- Proverbs 7:10 Literally “secret of heart”
- Proverbs 7:12 Literally “at the place of”
- Proverbs 7:13 Or “strengthened”
- Proverbs 7:14 Literally “the day”
- Proverbs 7:15 Hebrew “thus”
- Proverbs 7:19 Or “husband”
- Proverbs 7:19 Literally “a journey from far”
- Proverbs 7:23 Literally “heaviness,” often referring to the liver
- Proverbs 7:23 Literally “it is against his life”
- Proverbs 7:26 Or “strong men”
- Proverbs 7:27 A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
Proverbs 9:13-18
World English Bible
13 The foolish woman is loud,
undisciplined, and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat in the high places of the city,
15 to call to those who pass by,
who go straight on their ways,
16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.”
as for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,
17 “Stolen water is sweet.
Food eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he doesn’t know that the departed spirits are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.[a]
Notas al pie
- 9:18 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Proverbs 9:13-18
Lexham English Bible
13 A woman of foolishness is loud,
simple, and does not know it.[a]
14 She sits at the door of her house,
upon a throne at the high places of town,
15 in order to call to those who pass by the road,
those who go straight on their way:
16 “Whoever is simple, may he turn here!”
As for he who lacks sense,[b] she says to him,
17 “Stolen waters are sweet,
and bread of secrecy is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the dead[c] are there,
in the depths of Sheol[d] are her guests.
Notas al pie
- Proverbs 9:13 Literally “what”
- Proverbs 9:16 Literally “heart”
- Proverbs 9:18 Or “Rephaim”
- Proverbs 9:18 A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
Proverbs 22:14
World English Bible
14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit.
He who is under Yahweh’s wrath will fall into it.
Proverbs 22:14
Lexham English Bible
14 A deep pit is the mouth of an adulteress,[a]
he with whom Yahweh is angry will fall there.
Notas al pie
- Proverbs 22:14 Literally “a strange woman”
Proverbs 23:26-28
World English Bible
26 My son, give me your heart;
and let your eyes keep in my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit;
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Yes, she lies in wait like a robber,
and increases the unfaithful among men.
Proverbs 23:26-28
Lexham English Bible
26 My child, may you give your heart[a] to me,
and may your eyes delight in my ways.
27 For a deep pit is a prostitute,[b]
and a narrow well is an adulteress.[c]
28 She is also like a robber lying in wait,
and the faithless among mankind she increases.
Notas al pie
- Proverbs 23:26 Or “mind”
- Proverbs 23:27 Or “whore”
- Proverbs 23:27 Literally “a foreign woman”
Proverbs 29:3
World English Bible
3 Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father;
but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
Proverbs 29:3
Lexham English Bible
3 A man who loves wisdom will make his parents glad,
but the friend of prostitutes[a] will squander his wealth.
Notas al pie
- Proverbs 29:3 Or “whores”
Proverbs 30:20
World English Bible
20 “So is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
Proverbs 30:20
Lexham English Bible
20 This is the way of a woman committing adultery:
she eats and wipes her mouth,
and says “I have not done wrong.”
Proverbs 31:2-3
World English Bible
2 “Oh, my son!
Oh, son of my womb!
Oh, son of my vows!
3 Don’t give your strength to women,
nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
Proverbs 31:2-3
Lexham English Bible
2 What, my son? And what, my son in my womb?
And what, son of my vows?
3 Do not give your strength to the women,
and your ways to destroy kings.
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