in the end
This phrase emphasizes the ultimate outcome or consequence of an action or choice. In the Hebrew context, the word "end" (אַחֲרִית, acharit) often refers to the final result or the latter days. It serves as a reminder that while certain actions may seem appealing or harmless initially, their true nature and consequences are revealed over time. This aligns with the biblical principle of sowing and reaping, where the end result is determined by the choices made.

she is bitter as wormwood
"Wormwood" (לַעֲנָה, la'anah) is a plant known for its extremely bitter taste and is often used metaphorically in the Bible to represent sorrow, calamity, or divine judgment. The bitterness of wormwood serves as a powerful image of the regret and pain that follow sinful or unwise choices. Historically, wormwood was used in ancient times as a medicinal herb, but its bitterness made it a symbol of something undesirable. This phrase warns of the emotional and spiritual bitterness that results from engaging in immoral or foolish behavior.

sharp as a double-edged sword
The imagery of a "double-edged sword" (חֶרֶב פִּיּוֹת, cherev piyyot) conveys the idea of something that is not only dangerous but also capable of inflicting deep and lasting harm. In ancient warfare, a double-edged sword was a formidable weapon, able to cut in both directions. This metaphor highlights the destructive power of sin, which can pierce and wound the soul deeply. In the broader scriptural context, the Word of God is also described as a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), indicating that while God's Word can convict and correct, the path of sin can similarly cut and destroy. This serves as a stark warning to avoid the seductive allure of sin, which ultimately leads to spiritual and emotional devastation.

(4) Bitter as wormwood.--The absinthium of Revelation 8:11, where, apparently, it is considered as a poison. So God's message to St. John (Revelation 10:10) was in his mouth sweet as honey (comp. Psalm 19:10), but made his belly bitter: that is, he met with much sorrow and trouble in making it known to men, but through this "much tribulation" (Acts 14:22) he "entered into the kingdom of heaven."

Verse 4. - The contrast is drawn with great vividness between the professions of the "strange woman" and the disastrous consequences which overtake those who listen to her enticements. She promises enjoyment, pleasure, freedom from danger, but her end is bitter as wormwood. "Her end," not merely with reference to herself, which may be and is undoubtedly true, but the last of her as experienced by those who have intercourse with her - her character as it stands revealed at the last. So it is said of wine, "At the last," i.e. its final effects, if indulged in to excess, "it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder" (Proverbs 23:22). Bitter as wormwood. The Hebrew, laanah, "wormwood," Gesenius derives from the unused root laan, "to curse." It is the equivalent to the absinthium of the Vulgate. So Aquila, who has ἀψίνθιον. The LXX. improperly renders χολή, "gall." In other places the word laanah is used as the emblem of bitterness, with the superadded idea of its being poisonous, also according to the Hebrew notion, shared in also by the Greeks, that the plant combined these two qualities. Thus in Deuteronomy 29:18 it is associated with rosh, "a poisonful herb" (margin), and the Targum terms it, agreeably with this notion, "deadly wormwood." The same belief is reproduced in Revelation 8:11, "And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and many men died of the waters because they were made bitter" (cf. Jeremiah 9:15; Amos 5:7: 6:12). The apostle, no doubt, has it in mind when he speaks of any "root of bitterness," in Hebrews 12:15. The herb is thus described by Umbreit: "It is a plant toward two feet high, belonging to the genus Artemisia (species Artemisia absinthium), which produces a very firm stalk with many branches, grayish leaves, and small, almost round, pendent blossoms. It has a bitter and saline taste, and seems to have been regarded in the East as also a poison, of which the frequent combination with rosh gives an intimation." Terence has a strikingly similar passage to the one before us -

In melle sunt linguae sitae vestrae atque orations
Lacteque; corda felle sunt lita atque acerbo aceto." Your tongues are placed in honey and your speech is milk; your hearts are besmeared with gall and sharp vinegar ('Trucul.,' 1:11. 75). Sharp as a two-edged sword; literally, as a sword of edges (kherev piphiyyoth), which may mean a sword of extreme sharpness. Her end is as sharp as the sharpest sword. But it seems better to take the term as it is understood in the Authorized Version, which has the support both of the Vulgate, gladius biceps, and the LXX., μαχαίρα διστόμος, i.e. "a two-edged sword." Compare "a two-edged sword" (kherev piphiyyoth) of Psalm 149:6. The meaning is, the last of her is poignancy of remorse, anguish of heart, and death. In these she involves her victims.

Parallel Commentaries ...

her end
וְֽ֭אַחֲרִיתָהּ (wə·’a·ḥă·rî·ṯāh)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 319: The last, end, the future, posterity

is bitter
מָרָ֣ה (mā·rāh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 4751: Bitter, bitterness, bitterly

as wormwood,
כַֽלַּעֲנָ֑ה (ḵal·la·‘ă·nāh)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3939: Wormwood

sharp
חַ֝דָּ֗ה (ḥad·dāh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 2299: Sharp

as a double-edged
פִּיּֽוֹת׃ (pî·yō·wṯ)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6310: The mouth, edge, portion, side, according to

sword.
כְּחֶ֣רֶב (kə·ḥe·reḇ)
Preposition-k | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 2719: Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 5:4 But in the end she is as (Prov. Pro Pr)