Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well. New Living Translation A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well. English Standard Version For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well. Berean Standard Bible For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well. King James Bible For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. New King James Version For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well. New American Standard Bible For a prostitute is a deep pit, And a strange woman is a narrow well. NASB 1995 For a harlot is a deep pit And an adulterous woman is a narrow well. NASB 1977 For a harlot is a deep pit, And an adulterous woman is a narrow well. Legacy Standard Bible For a harlot is a deep pit And a foreign woman is a narrow well. Amplified Bible For a prostitute is a deep pit, And an immoral woman is a narrow well. Christian Standard Bible For a prostitute is a deep pit, and a wayward woman is a narrow well; Holman Christian Standard Bible For a prostitute is a deep pit, and a stranger is a narrow well; American Standard Version For a harlot is a deep ditch; And a foreign woman is a narrow pit. Contemporary English Version Bad women and unfaithful wives are like a deep pit-- English Revised Version For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. GOD'S WORD® Translation A prostitute is a deep pit. A loose woman is a narrow well. Good News Translation Prostitutes and immoral women are a deadly trap. International Standard Version because a prostitute is a deep pit, and the adulterous woman a narrow well. Majority Standard Bible For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well. NET Bible for a prostitute is like a deep pit; a harlot is like a narrow well. New Heart English Bible For a prostitute is a deep pit; and a wayward wife is a narrow well. Webster's Bible Translation For a lewd woman is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. World English Bible For a prostitute is a deep pit; and a wayward wife is a narrow well. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionFor a harlot [is] a deep ditch, "" And a strange woman [is] a narrow pit. Young's Literal Translation For a harlot is a deep ditch, And a strange woman is a strait pit. Smith's Literal Translation For a harlot is a deep ditch; and a strong woman a narrow well. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleFor a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit. Catholic Public Domain Version For a loose woman is a deep pit, and a foreign woman is a constricted well. New American Bible For the harlot is a deep pit, and the foreign woman a narrow well; New Revised Standard Version For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleFor a harlot is a deep pit; and a strange woman is a narrow well. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated For a whore is a deep ditch and an estranged woman is a disturbed well. OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917For a harlot is a deep ditch; And an alien woman is a narrow pit. Brenton Septuagint Translation For a strange house is a vessel full of holes; and a strange well is narrow. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context True Riches…26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways. 27For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well. 28Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.… Cross References Proverbs 5:3-5 Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, / in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword. / Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol. Proverbs 7:24-27 Now, my sons, listen to me, and attend to the words of my mouth. / Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. / For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number. ... Proverbs 6:24-26 to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. / Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. / For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life. Proverbs 2:16-19 It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words / who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. / For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits. ... Ecclesiastes 7:26 And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared. Judges 16:4-21 Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. / The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.” / So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.” ... Genesis 39:7-12 and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.” / But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care. / No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?” ... 1 Kings 11:1-4 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. / These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. / He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away. ... Jeremiah 3:6-10 Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there. / I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. / She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well. ... Ezekiel 16:30-34 How weak-willed is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, while you do all these things, the acts of a shameless prostitute! / But when you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were not even like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. / You adulterous wife! You receive strangers instead of your own husband! ... Matthew 5:27-28 You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ / But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. / Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; / you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body. James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. / Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; / each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, / not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God; 2 Peter 2:14 Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed. Treasury of Scripture For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. Jump to Previous Adulterous Adventuress Alien Deep Ditch Foreign Harlot Hollow Lewd Narrow Pit Prostitute Strait Strange Water-Hole Wayward Whore WifeJump to Next Adulterous Adventuress Alien Deep Ditch Foreign Harlot Hollow Lewd Narrow Pit Prostitute Strait Strange Water-Hole Wayward Whore WifeProverbs 23 1. Consider carefully what is before youFor a prostitute is a deep pit In biblical times, a "deep pit" was a metaphor for danger and entrapment. Pits were often used as traps for animals or as prisons for people (Genesis 37:24, Jeremiah 38:6). The imagery suggests that engaging with a prostitute leads to spiritual and moral peril, akin to falling into a trap from which escape is difficult. The use of "deep pit" emphasizes the depth of the potential fall and the difficulty of extrication once ensnared. This aligns with the broader biblical teaching on sexual immorality, which is consistently portrayed as leading to destruction (Proverbs 5:3-5, 1 Corinthians 6:18). and an adulteress is a narrow well Persons / Places / Events 1. ProstituteIn the context of Proverbs, a prostitute represents not only literal sexual immorality but also spiritual unfaithfulness. The Hebrew word used here is (zonah), which can refer to a harlot or someone who is unfaithful. 2. Adulteress This term refers to a woman who engages in sexual relations outside of marriage. The Hebrew word (nokriyah) can also imply foreignness or strangeness, suggesting a departure from covenantal faithfulness. 3. Deep Pit This metaphor indicates danger and entrapment. In ancient times, a pit was often used as a trap for animals, symbolizing the peril and difficulty of escape once ensnared. 4. Narrow Well A narrow well suggests a confined space that is difficult to escape from, symbolizing the restrictive and consuming nature of engaging in adultery. Teaching Points The Danger of Sexual ImmoralitySexual immorality is not just a physical act but a spiritual danger that can lead to entrapment and destruction. Believers are called to recognize and avoid these pitfalls. Spiritual Faithfulness Just as physical adultery is a betrayal of marital vows, spiritual unfaithfulness is a betrayal of our covenant with God. We must remain vigilant and faithful in our relationship with Him. The Consequences of Sin Sin often presents itself as alluring and harmless, but it leads to entrapment and spiritual death. Understanding the consequences helps us make wise choices. The Importance of Wisdom and Discernment Proverbs emphasizes the need for wisdom and discernment to navigate life's challenges. By seeking God's wisdom, we can avoid the traps of sin. Accountability and Community Engaging in a community of believers provides accountability and support, helping us to resist temptation and remain faithful.(27) Strange woman (nokhriyyah).--See above, on Proverbs 2:16.Verse 27. - The need of the emphatic injunction in ver. 26 is exemplified by the dangers of impurity. A deep ditch; as Proverbs 22:14. A strange woman is a narrow pit. (For "strange woman," equivalent to "harlot," see on Proverbs 2:16.) A narrow pit is one with a narrow month, from which, if one falls into it, it is difficult to extricate one's self. The verse indicates the seductive nature of the vice of unchastity: how easy it is to be led into it! how difficult to rise from it! Thus St. Chrysostom ('Hom. 11, in 1 Corinthians'), "When by unclean desire the soul is made captive, even as a cloud and mist darken the eyes of the body, so that desire intercepts the foresight of the mind, and suffers no one to see any distance before him, either precipice, or hell, or fear; but thenceforth, having that deceit as a tyrant over him, he comes to be easily vanquished by sin; and there is raised up before his eyes as it were a partition wall, and no windows in it, which suffers not the ray of righteousness to shine in upon the mind, the absurd conceits of lust enclosing it as with a rampart on all sides. And then, and from that time forward, the unchaste woman is everywhere meeting him - before his eyes, before his mind, before his thoughts, in station and presence. And as the blind, although they stand at high noon beneath the very central point of the heaven, receive not the light, their eyes being fast closed up; just so these also, though ten thousand doctrines of salvation sound in their ears from all quarters, having their soul preoccupied with this passion, stop their ears against all discourses of that kind. And they know it well who have made the trial. But God forbid that you should know it from actual experience!" The LXX. has changed the allusion: "For a strange house is a pierced wine jar (πίθος τετρημένος), and a strange well is narrow," where the idea seems to be that the private well, which is dug for the convenience of one family only, is not to be relied upon, and will yield not enough to supply others' wants. Hence would arise a warning against coveting a neighbour's wife. There is a Greek proverb about drawing wine into pierced jars (Xen., 'OEcon.,' 7:40). Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Forכִּֽי־ (kî-) Conjunction Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction a prostitute זוֹנָ֑ה (zō·w·nāh) Noun - feminine singular Strong's 2181: To commit adultery, to commit idolatry is a deep עֲמֻקָּ֣ה (‘ă·muq·qāh) Adjective - feminine singular Strong's 6013: Deep pit, שׁוּחָ֣ה (šū·ḥāh) Noun - feminine singular Strong's 7745: A chasm and an adulteress נָכְרִיָּֽה׃ (nā·ḵə·rî·yāh) Adjective - feminine singular Strong's 5237: Foreign, alien is a narrow צָ֝רָ֗ה (ṣā·rāh) Adjective - feminine singular Strong's 6862: Narrow, a tight place, a pebble, an opponent well. וּבְאֵ֥ר (ū·ḇə·’êr) Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 875: A pit, a well Links Proverbs 23:27 NIVProverbs 23:27 NLT Proverbs 23:27 ESV Proverbs 23:27 NASB Proverbs 23:27 KJV Proverbs 23:27 BibleApps.com Proverbs 23:27 Biblia Paralela Proverbs 23:27 Chinese Bible Proverbs 23:27 French Bible Proverbs 23:27 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Proverbs 23:27 For a prostitute is a deep pit (Prov. Pro Pr) |