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Proverbs 2:16-20
World English Bible
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
New International Version
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
World English Bible
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.
Footnotes
- 5:5 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Proverbs 5
New International Version
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
World English Bible
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
New International Version
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
World English Bible
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.
Footnotes
- 7:27 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Proverbs 7
New International Version
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
World English Bible
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]
Footnotes
- 9:18 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Proverbs 9:13-18
New International Version
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
World English Bible
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
New International Version
Proverbs 22:14
New International Version
Proverbs 23:26-28
World English Bible
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
New International Version
Proverbs 23:26-28
New International Version
Saying 18
Proverbs 29:3
World English Bible
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
New International Version
Proverbs 29:3
New International Version
Proverbs 30:20
World English Bible
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
New International Version
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
World English Bible
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
New International Version
Proverbs 31:2-3
New International Version
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