For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;
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.
- BSB For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits.
- 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 he doesn’t know that the departed spirits are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
- 1 Cor 6:9–11Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals,
- Eph 5:5Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.
- Rev 21:8But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
- Gal 5:19–21Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness,
- Prov 5:4–14but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.
- Prov 6:26–35For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread. The adulteress hunts for your precious life.
- Rev 22:15Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Prov 7:22–27He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.