Proverbs 2:16-20
American Standard Version
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman,
Even from the foreigner that [a]flattereth with her words;
17 That forsaketh the [b]friend of her youth,
And forgetteth the covenant of her God:
18 For [c]her house inclineth unto death,
And her paths unto [d]the dead;
19 None that go unto her return again,
Neither do they attain unto the paths of life:
20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men,
And keep the paths of the righteous.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:16 Hebrew maketh smooth her words.
- Proverbs 2:17 Or, guide
- Proverbs 2:18 Or, she sinketh down unto death, which is her house
- Proverbs 2:18 Or, the shades. Hebrew Rephaim.
Proverbs 5
American Standard Version
5 My son, attend unto my wisdom;
Incline thine ear to my understanding:
2 That thou mayest preserve discretion,
And that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop honey,
And her mouth is smoother than oil:
4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
Her steps take hold on Sheol;
6 [a]So that she findeth not the level path of life:
Her ways are unstable, and [b]she knoweth it not.
7 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me,
And depart not from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove thy way far from her,
And come not nigh the door of her house;
9 Lest thou give thine honor unto others,
And thy years unto the cruel;
10 Lest strangers be filled with thy [c]strength,
And thy labors be in the house of an alien,
11 And thou [d]mourn at thy latter end,
When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12 And say, How have I hated instruction,
And my heart despised reproof;
13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14 I was well-nigh in all evil
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern,
And running waters out of thine own well.
16 [e]Should thy springs be dispersed abroad,
And streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for thyself alone,
And not for strangers with thee.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed;
And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.
19 As a loving hind and a pleasant doe,
Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times;
And [f]be thou ravished always with her love.
20 For why shouldest thou, my son, [g]be ravished with a strange woman,
And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah;
And he [h]maketh level all his paths.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked,
And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction;
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:6 Or, Lest thou find the level etc. Or, Lest thou weigh carefully the path of life
- Proverbs 5:6 Or, thou canst not know them
- Proverbs 5:10 Or, wealth
- Proverbs 5:11 Or, groan
- Proverbs 5:16 Or, Let
- Proverbs 5:19 Hebrew go astray.
- Proverbs 5:20 Hebrew go astray.
- Proverbs 5:21 Or, weigheth carefully
Proverbs 6:24-35
American Standard Version
24 To keep thee from the evil woman,
From the flattery of the foreigner’s tongue.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thy heart;
Neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a piece of bread;
And [a]the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one walk upon hot coals,
And his feet not be scorched?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whosoever toucheth her shall not be [b]unpunished.
30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal
To satisfy [c]himself when he is hungry:
31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold;
He shall give all the substance of his house.
32 He that committeth adultery with a woman is void of [d]understanding:
He doeth it who would destroy his own soul.
33 Wounds and dishonor shall he get;
And his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man;
And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He will not regard any ransom;
Neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:26 Hebrew a man’s wife.
- Proverbs 6:29 Hebrew held innocent.
- Proverbs 6:30 Or, his appetite
- Proverbs 6:32 Hebrew heart.
Proverbs 7
American Standard Version
7 My son, keep my words,
And lay up my commandments with thee.
2 Keep my commandments and live;
And my law as the apple of thine eye.
3 Bind them upon thy fingers;
Write them upon the tablet of thy heart.
4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister;
And call understanding thy [a]kinswoman:
5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman,
From the foreigner that [b]flattereth with her words.
6 For at the window of my house
I looked forth through my lattice;
7 And I beheld among the simple ones,
I discerned among the youths,
A young man void of understanding,
8 Passing through the street near her corner;
And he went the way to her house,
9 In the twilight, in the evening of the day,
In the [c]middle of the night and in the darkness.
10 And, behold, there met him a woman
With the attire of a harlot, and [d]wily of heart.
11 (She is [e]clamorous and wilful;
Her feet abide not in her house:
12 Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places,
And lieth in wait at every corner.)
13 So she caught him, and kissed him,
[f]And with an impudent face she said unto him:
14 Sacrifices of peace-offerings [g]are with me;
This day have I paid my vows.
15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee,
Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16 I have spread my couch with [h]carpets of tapestry,
With striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
17 I have [i]perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning;
Let us solace ourselves with loves.
19 For the man is not at home;
He is gone a long journey:
20 He hath taken a bag of money with him;
He will come home at the full moon.
21 With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield;
With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along.
22 He goeth after her [j]straightway,
As an ox goeth to the slaughter,
Or as one in [k]fetters to the correction of the fool;
23 Till an arrow strike through his liver;
As a bird hasteth to the snare,
And knoweth not that it is for his life.
24 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me,
And attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not thy heart decline to her ways;
Go not astray in her paths.
26 For she hath cast down many wounded:
Yea, all her slain are a mighty host.
27 Her house is the way to Sheol,
Going down to the chambers of death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:4 Or, familiar friend
- Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew maketh smooth her words.
- Proverbs 7:9 Hebrew pupil (of the eye).
- Proverbs 7:10 Or, close. Hebrew guarded.
- Proverbs 7:11 Or, turbulent
- Proverbs 7:13 Hebrew She hardened her face, and said.
- Proverbs 7:14 Or, were due from me
- Proverbs 7:16 Or, cushions
- Proverbs 7:17 Or, sprinkled
- Proverbs 7:22 Hebrew suddenly.
- Proverbs 7:22 The Hebrew is obscure.
Proverbs 9:13-18
American Standard Version
13 [a]The foolish woman is clamorous;
She is [b]simple, and knoweth nothing.
14 And she sitteth at the door of her house,
On a seat in the high places of the city,
15 To call to them that pass by,
Who go right on their ways:
16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither;
And as for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him,
17 Stolen waters are sweet,
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
18 But he knoweth not that [c]the dead are there;
That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 9:13 Or, Folly
- Proverbs 9:13 Hebrew simplicity.
- Proverbs 9:18 Or, the shades. Hebrew Rephaim.
Proverbs 22:14
American Standard Version
14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit;
He [a]that is abhorred of Jehovah shall fall therein.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:14 Or, against whom Jehovah hath indignation
Proverbs 23:26-28
American Standard Version
26 My son, give me thy heart;
And let thine eyes [a]delight in my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch;
And a foreign woman is a narrow pit.
28 Yea, she lieth in wait [b]as a robber,
And increaseth the treacherous among men.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:26 Another reading is, observe
- Proverbs 23:28 Or, as for a prey
Proverbs 29:3
American Standard Version
3 Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father;
But he that keepeth company with harlots wasteth his substance.
Proverbs 30:20
American Standard Version
20 So is the way of an adulterous woman;
She eateth, and wipeth her mouth,
And saith, I have done no wickedness.
Proverbs 31:2-3
American Standard Version
2 What, my son? and what, O son of my womb?
And what, O son of my vows?
3 Give not thy strength unto women,
Nor thy ways to [a]that which destroyeth kings.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 31:3 Or, as otherwise read, them that destroy
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