The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
Parallel translations
- KJV His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
- BSB The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
- NKJV His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
- NASB His own wrongdoings will trap the wicked, And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.
- NLT An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.
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
The wicked are trapped by their own sins, held fast by the cords of their iniquity. Sin becomes a self-made snare.
Overview
The wicked person's own evil deeds entangle him, and the ropes of his sin bind him fast. Sin is not freedom but bondage, ensnaring the one who practices it. This pictures the enslaving power of sin (John 8:34; Rom 6:16) from which only Christ can set free.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Prov 1:31–32Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own schemes.
- Prov 11:5The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way, but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
- Ps 9:15The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.
- Hos 4:11–14Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
- Eph 5:5–6Know 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.
- Prov 1:18but these lay wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.
- Num 32:23“But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against Yahweh; and be sure your sin will find you out.
- Ps 7:15–16He has dug a hole, and has fallen into the pit which he made.
- Prov 11:3The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
- Gal 6:7–8Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
- Eccl 7:26I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.
- Gal 5:19–21Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness,
- Jer 2:19“Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backsliding will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing, that you have forsaken Yahweh your God, and that my fear is not in you,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
- 1 Cor 5:9–10I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners;
- Heb 13:4Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
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 5:22 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
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