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For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits.
Proverbs 2:18 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB for her house leads down to death, her paths to the departed spirits.
  • KJV For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
  • NKJV For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;
  • NASB For her house sinks down to death, And her tracks lead to the dead;
  • NLT Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Her house sinks down to death and her paths to the dead. It matters because it warns that sexual sin leads to ruin and death.

Overview

The adulteress's way is depicted as a downward slope toward death and the realm of departed spirits. What seems alluring leads to destruction. The grave consequence underscores the seriousness of the sin and points to our need for the One who delivers from death.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Prov 9:18But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
  • 1 Cor 6:9–11Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,
  • Eph 5:5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
  • Rev 21:8But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
  • Gal 5:19–21The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
  • Prov 5:4–14in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword.
  • Prov 6:26–35For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.
  • Rev 22:15But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
  • Prov 7:22–27He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 2:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.

How Proverbs 2:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.