Proverbs 22:14

14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit; a man who is under the LORD’s wrath falls into it.

Proverbs 22:14 in Other Translations

KJV
14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.
ESV
14 The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit; he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it.
NLT
14 The mouth of an immoral woman is a dangerous trap; those who make the LORD angry will fall into it.
MSG
14 The mouth of a whore is a bottomless pit; you'll fall in that pit if you're on the outs with God.
CSB
14 The mouth of the forbidden woman is a deep pit; a man cursed by the Lord will fall into it.

Proverbs 22:14 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 22:14

The mouth of strange women [is] a deep pit
The mouth of harlots; the kisses of their mouth, their fair speech and flattering words, their amorous talk, and lascivious and wanton language, ensnare and draw unwary persons to commit lewdness with them, which bring them into a pit of ruin and destruction; a filthy one, and very deep, out of which it is not easy nor usual to be extricated: the allusion is to beasts taken in a pit dug for them; and these are as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed; he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein;
who has been guilty of other sins, and such as have caused the Lord to abhor him, and therefore leaves him to fall into this: one sin not only leads on to another, but is the punishment of another; men are seldom guilty of this sin of whoredom, but who have been first abandoned to other vices very provoking to. God; see ( Ecclesiastes 7:26 ) . Jarchi interprets all this of idolatry; and it may be very well applied to the whore of Rome, and the harlots she is mother of; who, by her fair words and false doctrines, by her mouth speaking blasphemies and lies in hypocrisy, by her golden cup in her hand full of abomination and filthiness of fornication, and by her sorceries, have deceived many, and brought them into the pit of perdition and ruin: and these are such whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life; but are rejected of God, and given up to believe a lie, that they might be damned, ( Revelation 17:4 Revelation 17:5 Revelation 17:8 ) ( 2 Thessalonians 2:11 2 Thessalonians 2:12 ) .

Proverbs 22:14 In-Context

12 The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.
13 The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!”
14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit; a man who is under the LORD’s wrath falls into it.
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.
16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

Cross References 2

  • 1. S Proverbs 2:16; Proverbs 5:3-5; Proverbs 7:5; Proverbs 23:27
  • 2. Ecclesiastes 7:26
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