English Standard Version
Proverbs 2:16
16So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words,
Proverbs 2:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
- New International Version (NIV)Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
- New King James Version (NKJV)To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words,
- New Living Translation (NLT)Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.
Context of Proverbs 2:16
14who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, 15men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, 17who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; 18for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed;
Read all of Proverbs 2Proverbs 2:16 word by word
לְ֭הַצִּ֣ילְךָ מֵאִשָּׁ֣ה זָרָ֑ה מִ֝נָּכְרִיָּ֗ה אֲמָרֶ֥יהָ הֶחֱלִֽיקָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 2:16
- Proverbs 5:3For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,
- Proverbs 6:24to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
- Proverbs 7:5to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words.
- Proverbs 22:14The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit; he with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.
- Proverbs 23:27For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well.
- Genesis 39:3His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.
- Nehemiah 13:26Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.
- Ecclesiastes 7:26And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.
- Proverbs 7:21With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him.
- Proverbs 29:5A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
Commentaries on Proverbs 2:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16The stranger which flattereth with her words - החליקה hechelikah, she that smooths with her words. The original intimates the glib, oily speeches of a prostitute. The English lick is supposed to be derived from the original word.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16The second great evil, the warnings against which are frequent (see the marginal reference). Two words are used to describe the class. (1) “The strange woman” is one who does not belong to the family, one who by birth is outside the covenant of Israel. (2) “The stranger” is none other than a foreigner. It is the word used of the “strange” wives of Solomon 1 Kings 11:1, 1 Kings 11:8, and of those of the Jews who returned from Babylon (Proverbs 2:17; but…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-22Verses 10-22 If we are truly wise, we shall be careful to avoid all evil company and evil practices. When wisdom has dominion over us, then it not only fills the head, but enters into the heart, and will preserve, both against corruptions within and temptations without. The ways of sin are ways of darkness, uncomfortable and unsafe: what fools are those who leave the plain, pleasant, lightsome paths of uprightness, to walk in such ways! They take pleasure…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Wisdom helps a young man avoid an immoral woman, enabling him to resist her flattering and seductive words. Wisdom involves emotional maturity, self-control, and understanding the intent behind someone's words.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-1916-19. Deliverance from another danger. the strange woman--This term is often used for harlot, or loose woman (Jud 11:1, 2), married (Pr 7:5, 19) or not (1Ki 11:1), so called, because such were, perhaps at first, foreigners, though "strange" may also denote whatever is opposed to right or proper, as "strange fire" (Nu 3:4); "strange incense" (Ex 30:9). flattereth--literally, "smooths." her words--(Psa 5:9).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 2:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries