What is the meaning of Proverbs 23:27? for a prostitute is a deep pit - The verse begins with “For,” signaling an explanation of the warning immediately prior (Proverbs 23:26), where the father urges his son to keep his heart on the right path. - A “deep pit” pictures danger that is hard to escape once entered. Choosing sexual immorality is not a harmless diversion; it pulls a person down spiritually, emotionally, and often financially. • Proverbs 22:14 echoes this image: “The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; he whom the LORD is angry with will fall into it.” • Proverbs 2:16-18 describes the same trap: the forbidden woman “leaves the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God,” and “her house sinks down to death.” - The literalness of the warning is plain: there truly are consequences—broken marriages, disease, lost reputation, and separation from God’s blessing (1 Corinthians 6:18, Hebrews 13:4). and an adulteress is a narrow well - A “narrow well” suggests confinement. What seems alluring soon becomes a tight prison of guilt, secrecy, and complicated lies. • Proverbs 5:3-5 shows the progression: “her feet go down to death.” • Ecclesiastes 7:26 compares the seductress to “snares and nets,” reinforcing the image of restricted freedom. - Wells were life-giving sources of water; calling this one “narrow” hints that the adulteress offers a counterfeit satisfaction that cannot truly refresh. • Jeremiah 2:13 rebukes Israel for forsaking the living God and digging “broken cisterns that cannot hold water,” a parallel picture of false fulfillment. - The phrase also highlights exclusivity: adultery intrudes on a covenant reserved for one spouse (Exodus 20:14, Malachi 2:14-16). The illicit relationship squeezes out all others, especially one’s walk with God. summary Proverbs 23:27 paints two vivid warnings. The prostitute is like a deep pit—once you fall in, escaping is painful and costly. The adulteress is like a narrow well—she promises refreshment but delivers confinement and emptiness. God gives these images to spare us from ruin and to guard the sanctity of marriage and the joy that comes from walking in purity. |
    |