God’s Word Translation
Proverbs 2:16
16⌞Wisdom will⌟ also save you from an adulterous woman, from a loose woman with her smooth talk,
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,
- English Standard Version (ESV)So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words,
- New King James Version (NKJV)To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words,
Context of Proverbs 2:16
14from those who enjoy doing evil, from those who find joy in the deviousness of evil. 15Their paths are crooked. Their ways are devious. ⌞Wisdom will⌟ also save you from an adulterous woman, from a loose woman with her smooth talk, 17who leaves ⌞her husband,⌟ the closest friend of her youth, and forgets her marriage vows to her God. 18Her house sinks down to death. Her ways lead to the souls of the dead.
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 5:3The lips of an adulterous woman drip with honey. Her kiss is smoother than oil,
- Proverbs 6:24to keep you from an evil woman and from the smooth talk of a loose woman.
- Proverbs 7:5in order to guard yourself from an adulterous woman, from a loose woman with her smooth talk.
- Proverbs 22:14The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit. The one who is cursed by the Lord will fall into it.
- Proverbs 23:27A prostitute is a deep pit. A loose woman is a narrow well.
- Genesis 39:3Joseph’s master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful.
- Nehemiah 13:26I said, “Wasn’t it because of marriages like these that King Solomon of Israel sinned? There wasn’t a king like him among all nations. God loved him, and God made him king of all Israel. But his non-Israelite wives led him to sin.
- Ecclesiastes 7:26I find that a woman whose thoughts are ⌞like⌟ traps and snares is more bitter than death itself. Even her hands are ⌞like⌟ chains. Whoever pleases God will escape her, but she will catch whoever continues to sin.
- Proverbs 7:21With all her seductive charms, she persuades him. With her smooth lips, she makes him give in.
- Proverbs 29:5A person who flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for him to step into.
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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