God’s Word Translation
Proverbs 5:4
4but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, as sharp as a two-edged sword.
Proverbs 5:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
- New International Version (NIV)but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
- English Standard Version (ESV)but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.
Context of Proverbs 5:4
2so that you may act with foresight and speak with insight. 3The lips of an adulterous woman drip with honey. Her kiss is smoother than oil, but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, as sharp as a two-edged sword. 5Her feet descend to death. Her steps lead straight to hell. 6She doesn’t even think about the path of life. Her steps wander, and she doesn’t realize it.
Read all of Proverbs 5Proverbs 5:4 word by word
וְֽ֭אַחֲרִיתָהּ מָרָ֣ה כַֽלַּעֲנָ֑ה חַ֝דָּ֗ה כְּחֶ֣רֶב פִּיּֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 5:4
- Proverbs 6:24to keep you from an evil woman and from the smooth talk of a loose woman.
- Proverbs 7:22He immediately follows her like a steer on its way to be slaughtered, like a ram hobbling into captivity
- Proverbs 9:18But he does not know that the souls of the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell.
- Proverbs 23:27A prostitute is a deep pit. A loose woman is a narrow well.
- 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.
- Hebrews 12:15Make sure that everyone has kindness from God so that bitterness doesn’t take root and grow up to cause trouble that corrupts many of you.
- Judges 16:4After ⌞leaving Gaza⌟, he fell in love with a woman in the Sorek Valley. Her name was Delilah.
- Psalms 55:21His speech is smoother than butter, but there is war in his heart. His words are more soothing than oil, but they are like swords ready to attack.
- Hebrews 4:12God’s word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God’s word judges a person’s thoughts and intentions.
Commentaries on Proverbs 5:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Bitter as wormwood - כלענה Kelanah, like the detestable herb wormwood, or something analogous to it: something as excessive in its bitterness, as honey is in its sweetness.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Wormwood - In Eastern medicine this herb, the absinthium of Greek and Latin botanists, was looked upon as poisonous rather than medicinal. Compare Revelation 8:11.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4The lips of an immoral woman may seem sweet and tempting, but they are actually bitter and dangerous. Sexual activity often starts with a kiss, and flattering words can lure someone in.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. her end--literally, "her future," in sense of reward, what follows (compare Psa 37:37; 73:17). Its nature is evinced by the use of figures, opposite those of Pr 5:3. The physical and moral suffering of the deluded profligate are notoriously terrible.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 5:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 5
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries