What is the meaning of Proverbs 2:19? None who go to her return - Proverbs 2:19a warns, “None who go to her return.” In the immediate context (vv. 16-18), “her” is the adulterous or wayward woman whose seductive words lure men away from faithfulness. - The statement is literal in its moral outcome: stepping into immorality is so spiritually crippling that, humanly speaking, men do not simply stroll back to innocence. Proverbs 5:22-23 echoes this: “The iniquities of a wicked man ensnare him… he will die for lack of discipline.” - Scripture consistently pictures sin as a trap that is easy to enter and hard to exit (Jeremiah 13:23; John 8:34). Like Esau who “found no place for repentance, though he sought it with tears” (Hebrews 12:16-17), the adulterer discovers that the doorway he walked through locks behind him. - This is not a denial of God’s power to forgive. Rather, it signals how seldom those caught in habitual sexual sin truly seek that forgiveness. Proverbs 7:26 drives it home: “Many are the victims she has brought down.” Or negotiate the paths of life - The verse continues, “or negotiate the paths of life,” stressing that even if a man physically survives the affair, he abandons the road that leads to blessing, wisdom, and eternal life (Proverbs 3:17-18). - “Paths of life” in Proverbs describe God-given routes marked by obedience, peace, and flourishing (Proverbs 4:18; Psalm 16:11). When someone shackles himself to sexual folly, he forfeits that guidance. • His marriage covenant erodes (Malachi 2:14-16). • His conscience hardens (1 Timothy 4:2). • His witness dims (Matthew 5:13-16). - Proverbs 5:5-6 explains why he cannot “negotiate” (i.e., steer back onto) life’s paths: “Her feet go down to death… she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, but she does not know it.” Delusion replaces discernment. - Paul underscores the same outcome: “The sexually immoral… will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Unrepentant immorality is incompatible with the narrow road that “leads to life” (Matthew 7:14). Summary Proverbs 2:19 paints a sober picture: yielding to sexual temptation leads down a dead-end street from which few return, severing one’s connection to the life-giving paths God designed. The verse is both a warning and a mercy—alerting us before we step across the threshold that sin’s doorway opens onto a one-way descent. Taking the wisdom road of purity keeps us in the light where true life is found. |
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