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Commentary on Proverbs 5 verses 1–14
Here we have,
I. A solemn preface, to introduce the caution which follows, Pro 5:1, Pro 5:2. Solomon here addresses himself to his son, that is, to all young men, as unto his children, whom he has an affection for and some influence upon. In God's name, he demands attention; for he writes by divine inspiration, and is a prophet, though he begins not with, Thus saith the Lord. "Attend, and bow thy ear; not only hear what is said, and read what is written, but apply thy mind to it and consider it diligently." To gain attention he urges, 1. The excellency of his discourse: "It is my wisdom, my understanding; if I undertake to teach thee wisdom I cannot prescribe any thing to be more properly called so; moral philosophy is my philosophy, and that which is to be learned in my school." 2. The usefulness of it: "Attend to what I say," (1.) "That thou mayest act wisely - that thou mayest regard discretion." Solomon's lectures are not designed to fill our heads with notions, with matters of nice speculation, or doubtful disputation, but to guide us in the government of ourselves, that we may act prudently, so as becomes us and so as will be for our true interest. (2.) "That thou mayest speak wisely - that thy lips may keep knowledge, and thou mayest have it ready at thy tongue's end" (as we say), "for the benefit of those with whom thou dost converse." The priest's lips are said to keep knowledge (Mal 2:7); but those that are ready and mighty in the scriptures may not only in their devotions, but in their discourses, be spiritual priests.
II. The caution itself, and that is to abstain from fleshly lusts, from adultery, fornication, and all uncleanness. Some apply this figuratively, and by the adulterous woman here understand idolatry, or false doctrine, which tends to debauch men's minds and manners, or the sensual appetite, to which it may as fitly as any thing be applied; but the primary scope of it is plainly to warn us against seventh-commandment sins, which youth is so prone to, the temptations to which are so violent, the examples of which are so many, and which, where admitted, are so destructive to all the seeds of virtue in the soul that it is not strange that Solomon's cautions against it are so very pressing and so often repeated. Solomon here, as a faithful watchman, gives fair warning to all, as they regard their lives and comforts, to dread this sin, for it will certainly be their ruin. Two things we are here warned to take heed of: -
1.That we do not listen to the charms of this sin. It is true the lips of a strange woman drop as a honey-comb (Pro 5:3); the pleasures of fleshly lust are very tempting (like the wine that gives its colour in the cup and moves itself aright); its mouth, the kisses of its mouth, the words of its mouth, are smoother than oil, that the poisonous pill may go down glibly and there may be no suspicion of harm in it. But consider, (1.) How fatal the consequences will be. What fruit will the sinner have of his honey and oil when the end will be, [1.] The terrors of conscience: It is bitter as wormwood, Pro 5:4. What was luscious in the mouth rises in the stomach and turns sour there; it cuts, in the reflection, like a two-edged sword; take it which way you will, it wounds. Solomon could speak by experience, Ecc 7:26. [2.] The torments of hell. If some that have been guilty of this sin have repented and been saved, yet the direct tendency of the sin is to destruction of body and soul; the feet of it go down to death, nay, they take hold on hell, to pull it to the sinner, as if the damnations slumbered too long, Pro 5:5. Those that are entangled in this sin should be reminded that there is but a step between them and hell, and that they are ready to drop into it. (2.) Consider how false the charms are. The adulteress flatters and speaks fair, her words are honey and oil, but she will deceive those that hearken to her: Her ways are movable, that thou canst not know them; she often changes her disguise, and puts on a great variety of false colours, because, if she be rightly known, she is certainly hated. Proteus-like, she puts on many shapes, that she may keep in with those whom she has a design upon. And what does she aim at with all this art and management? Nothing but to keep them from pondering the path of life, for she knows that, if they once come to do that, she shall certainly lose them. Those are ignorant of Satan's devices who do not understand that the great thing he drives at in all his temptations is, [1.] To keep them from choosing the path of life, to prevent them from being religious and from going to heaven, that, being himself shut out from happiness, he may keep them out from it. [2.] In order hereunto, to keep them from pondering the path of life, from considering how reasonable it is that they should walk in that path, and how much it will be for their advantage. Be it observed, to the honour of religion, that it certainly gains its point with all those that will but allow themselves the liberty of a serious thought and will weigh things impartially in an even balance, and that the devil has no way of securing men in his interests but by diverting them with continual amusements of one kind or another from the calm and sober consideration of the things that belong to their peace. And uncleanness is a sin that does as much as any thing blind the understanding, sear the conscience, and keep people from pondering the path of life. Whoredom takes away the heart, Hos 4:11.
2.That we do not approach the borders of this sin, Pro 5:7, Pro 5:8.
(1.)This caution is introduced with a solemn preface: "Hear me now therefore, O you children! whoever you are that read or hear these lines, take notice of what I say, and mix faith with it, treasure it up, and depart not from the words of my mouth, as those will do that hearken to the words of the strange woman. Do not only receive what I say, for the present merely, but cleave to it, and let it be ready to thee, and of force with thee, when thou art most violently assaulted by the temptation."
(2.)The caution itself is very pressing: "Remove thy way far from her; if thy way should happen to lie near her, and thou shouldst have a fair pretence of being led by business within the reach of her charms, yet change thy way, and alter the course of it, rather than expose thyself to danger; come not nigh the door of her house; go on the other side of the street, nay, go through some other street, though it be about." This intimates, [1.] That we ought to have a very great dread and detestation of the sin. We must fear it as we would a place infected with the plague; we must loathe it as the odour of carrion, that we will not come near. Then we are likely to preserve our purity when we conceive a rooted antipathy to all fleshly lusts. [2.] That we ought industriously to avoid every thing that may be an occasion of this sin or a step towards it. Those that would be kept from harm must keep out of harm's way. Such tinder there is in the corrupt nature that it is madness, upon any pretence whatsoever, to come near the sparks. If we thrust ourselves into temptation, we mocked God when we prayed, Lead us not into temptation. [3.] That we ought to be jealous over ourselves with a godly jealousy, and not to be so confident of the strength of our own resolutions as to venture upon the brink of sin, with a promise to ourselves that hitherto we will come and no further. [4.] That whatever has become a snare to us and an occasion of sin, though it be as a right eye and a right hand, we must pluck it out, cut it off, and cast it from us, must part with that which is dearest to us rather than hazard our own souls; this is our Saviour's command, Mat 5:28-30.
(3.)The arguments which Solomon here uses to enforce this caution are taken from the same topic with those before, the many mischiefs which attend this sin. [1.] It blasts the reputation. "Thou wilt give thy honour unto others (Pro 5:9); thou wilt lose it thyself; thou wilt put into the hand of each of thy neighbours a stone to throw at thee, for they will all, with good reason, cry shame on thee, will despise thee, and trample on thee, as a foolish men." Whoredom is a sin that makes men contemptible and base, and no man of sense or virtue will care to keep company with one that keeps company with harlots. [2.] It wastes the time, gives the years, the years of youth, the flower of men's time, unto the cruel, "that base lust of thine, which with the utmost cruelty wars against the soul, that base harlot which pretends an affection for thee, but really hunts for the precious life." Those years that should be given to the honour of a gracious God are spent in the service of a cruel sin. [3.] It ruins the estate (Pro 5:10): "Strangers will be filled with thy wealth, which thou art but entrusted with as a steward for thy family; and the fruit of thy labours, which should be provision for thy own house, will be in the house of a stranger, that neither has right to it nor will ever thank thee for it." [4.] It is destructive to the health, and shortens men's days: Thy flesh and thy body will be consumed by it, Pro 5:11. The lusts of uncleanness not only war against the soul, which the sinner neglects and is in no care about, but they war against the body too, which he is so indulgent of and is in such care to please and pamper, such deceitful, such foolish, such hurtful lusts are they. Those that give themselves to work uncleanness with greediness waste their strength, throw themselves into weakness, and often have their bodies filled with loathsome distempers, by which the number of their months is cut off in the midst and they fall unpitied sacrifices to a cruel lust. [5.] It will fill the mind with horror, if ever conscience be awakened. "Though thou art merry now, sporting thyself in thy own deceivings, yet thou wilt certainly mourn at the last, Pro 5:11. Thou art all this while making work for repentance, and laying up matter for vexation and torment in the reflection, when the sin is set before thee in its own colours." Sooner or later it will bring sorrow, either when the soul is humbled and brought to repentance or when the flesh and body are consumed, either by sickness, when conscience flies in the sinner's face, or by the grave; when the body is rotting there, the soul is racking in the torments of hell, where the worm dies not, and "Son, remember," is the constant peal [plea?]. Solomon here brings in the convinced sinner reproaching himself, and aggravating his own folly. He will then most bitterly lament it. First, That because he hated to be reformed he therefore hated to be informed, and could not endure either to be taught his duty (How have I hated not only the discipline of being instructed, but the instruction itself, though all true and good!) or to be told of his faults - My heart despised reproof, Pro 5:12. He cannot but own that those who had the charge of him, parents, ministers, had done their part; they had been his teachers; they had instructed him, had given him good counsel and fair warning (Pro 5:13); but to his own shame and confusion does he speak it, and therein justifies God in all the miseries that were brought upon him, he had not obeyed their voice, for indeed he never inclined his ear to those that instructed him, never minded what they said nor admitted the impressions of it. Note, Those who have had a good education and do not live up to it will have a great deal to answer for another day; and those who will not now remember what they were taught, to conform themselves to it, will be made to remember it as an aggravation of their sin, and consequently of their ruin. Secondly, That by the frequent acts of sin the habits of it were so rooted and confirmed that his heart was fully set in him to commit it (Pro 5:14): I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. When he came into the synagogue, or into the courts of the temple, to worship God with other Israelites, his unclean heart was full of wanton thoughts and desires and his eyes of adultery. Reverence of the place and company, and of the work that was doing, could not restrain him, but he was almost as wicked and vile there as any where. No sin will appear more frightful to an awakened conscience than the profanation of holy things; nor will any aggravation of sin render it more exceedingly sinful than the place we are honoured with in the congregation and assembly, and the advantages we enjoy thereby. Zimri and Cozbi avowed their villany in the sight of Moses and all the congregation (Num 25:6), and heart-adultery is as open to God, and must needs be most offensive to him, when we draw nigh to him in religious exercises. I was in all evil in defiance of the magistrates and judges, and their assemblies; so some understand it. Others refer it to the evil of punishment, not to the evil of sin: "I was made an example, a spectacle to the world. I was under almost all God's sore judgments in the midst of the congregation of Israel, set up for a mark. I stood up and cried in the congregation," Job 30:28. Let that be avoided which will be thus rued at last.
Her ways are unstable, etc. The ways of heretical deception are unstable, because some deny Christ to be God, others to be man; some deny he took flesh, others a soul; some that he was born of a virgin; some that the Holy Spirit, others that the Father is God, some prohibit confessing pardon to the repentant. And this pestilence spreads itself into such countless paths, that they cannot wholly be traced. But Catholic truth is not unstable and untraceable, because it is one and the same, known to all, throughout the world, to the faithful.
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SUMMARY
Proverbs 5:6 delivers a profound warning from a father to his son, illustrating the insidious nature of the adulterous woman's influence. Her deceptive allure and unstable methods are designed to prevent one from thoughtfully discerning the true "path of life," which leads to flourishing and well-being. By obscuring the genuine consequences of her "moveable ways," she ensures that her victim remains ignorant of the destructive trajectory until it is too late, leading them unknowingly towards ruin.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Proverbs 5:6 is strategically placed within a larger didactic section (Proverbs 5-7) where the father-teacher issues urgent and repeated warnings against the "strange woman" or "adulteress." This discourse immediately follows a general appeal to embrace wisdom and understanding in Proverbs 4. The verses preceding Proverbs 5:6 vividly describe the initial sweetness of the adulteress's words, which quickly give way to the bitter reality of her consequences, likened to wormwood and a sharp sword, ultimately leading to death and Sheol (Proverbs 5:3-5). Verse 6 specifically elaborates on how her deceptive nature operates, making it impossible for her victim to perceive the true danger until deeply ensnared. The subsequent verses continue to exhort the son to maintain distance from her and to remain steadfastly faithful to his own wife (Proverbs 5:7-23), reinforcing the contrast between fidelity and destructive immorality.
Historical & Cultural Context: In ancient Israel, marital fidelity was not merely a personal virtue but a foundational pillar of societal and religious order, deeply interwoven with the covenant relationship between God and His people. Adultery was considered a grave offense, a direct violation of the Mosaic Law, which carried severe penalties and threatened the stability of family units, inheritance lines, and community integrity. The "strange woman" (often interpreted as a foreign woman, a prostitute, or any woman operating outside the established moral and social norms) represented a significant spiritual and practical threat to a young man's future, reputation, and relationship with God. Her "ways" reflect a common ancient understanding of deceit, where the path to ruin was often camouflaged by immediate gratification or false promises, making it exceedingly difficult for the naive or undiscerning to recognize the true, perilous trajectory. This context underscores the father's urgency in warning his son against such destructive influences.
Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes pervasive in the Book of Proverbs. It starkly highlights the contrast between wisdom and folly, where wisdom guides one onto the "path of life," while folly, personified by the adulteress, inevitably leads to destruction. It underscores the critical importance of discernment, emphasizing that the inability to "ponder" or "know" her ways constitutes a profound failure of wise judgment. The theme of consequences is central, as the verse implies that the hidden, deceptive nature of her path ensures the victim walks unknowingly into dire ruin. Furthermore, the imagery of "path" or "way" is a pervasive metaphor throughout Proverbs, representing one's moral and spiritual journey. This metaphor emphasizes that every choice has a direction and a destination, a concept beautifully illustrated in the two ways presented in Psalm 1. The father's urgent warnings throughout Proverbs are designed to meticulously guide the son onto the path of righteousness and away from the destructive paths of sin.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Proverbs 5:6 masterfully employs several literary devices to convey its urgent and vital warning. Personification is powerfully evident in the portrayal of "her ways," which are described as actively "moveable," giving the abstract concept of the adulteress's conduct a tangible, almost living quality that works to deceive and ensnare. The central Metaphor is that of the "path" or "way," which universally represents one's life choices, moral trajectory, and ultimate destiny. The "path of life" stands in stark and deliberate contrast with the "moveable ways" of the adulteress, which are implicitly a path leading to spiritual, moral, and physical death. Contrast is thus a pervasive and key device throughout the verse, highlighting the profound difference between the stable, knowable path of wisdom and the unstable, unknowable, and ultimately destructive path of folly. The verse also functions as a potent Warning, utilizing the conditional clause ("Lest thou shouldest...") to impress upon the listener the dire and unavoidable consequences of failing to heed the instruction and exercise discernment.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse powerfully articulates the profound biblical principle that sin, particularly sexual immorality, is inherently deceptive and inevitably leads to unforeseen and devastating destruction. It underscores the vital role of discernment, a cornerstone of biblical wisdom, in navigating the complex moral landscape of life. The "path of life" is not merely a metaphor for physical existence but for a life lived in accordance with God's divine design, characterized by righteousness, peace, spiritual flourishing, and true well-being. The inability to "know" the adulteress's ways speaks directly to the spiritual blindness that sin induces, preventing one from seeing the true nature of their choices and their ultimate, ruinous destination. This aligns seamlessly with the broader biblical teaching that sin invariably promises freedom and pleasure but delivers slavery, pain, and ultimately, spiritual death.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Proverbs 5:6 serves as a timeless and urgent reminder that not every path that appears appealing or offers immediate gratification leads to a good destination. It challenges us to cultivate a posture of constant and vigilant discernment, to intentionally "ponder the path of life" with wisdom and sober reflection. In a world saturated with fleeting pleasures, deceptive promises, and shifting moral landscapes, this verse calls us to rigorously examine the true nature of the influences we permit into our lives—whether they manifest as relationships, media, ideologies, or personal habits. Are we carefully weighing the long-term, eternal consequences of our choices, or are we being swayed by "moveable ways" that subtly obscure the truth and hide the ultimate cost? The warning extends beyond the specific sin of sexual immorality to any area where a lack of fixed moral principles or an unbridled pursuit of immediate gratification blinds us to the ultimate, destructive outcome. It compels us to actively seek clarity, stability, and unshakeable truth, anchoring our lives firmly in principles that are divine and unmoving, rather than being tossed about by every shifting current of cultural or personal desire.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does it mean to "ponder the path of life"?
Answer: To "ponder the path of life" means to carefully, deliberately, and thoughtfully consider one's moral, spiritual, and existential direction. The Hebrew word pâlaç (H6424) suggests weighing, leveling, or making a path straight, implying a meticulous and intentional evaluation of choices and their long-term consequences. It means ensuring that one's life choices align with wisdom and righteousness, which are the true foundations for flourishing and holistic well-being. This active and conscious reflection stands in stark contrast to passively drifting or being unwittingly led astray by external, deceptive influences.
Why are "her ways moveable, [that] thou canst not know [them]"?
Answer: The "her" in this context refers to the adulterous woman, who personifies the profound dangers of sexual immorality and folly. Her "ways" are described by the Hebrew term nûwaʻ (H5128), meaning unstable, wavering, or wandering. This signifies that her methods, allure, and the destructive path she offers are not grounded in fixed moral principles or truth. Instead, they are deceptive, constantly shifting, and unpredictable. Because they lack a consistent, truthful foundation, their true nature and ultimate destructive destination are obscured from the victim. This makes it impossible for the individual to yâdaʻ (H3045)—to fully comprehend, discern, or truly "know" them—until it is often far too late. This vividly highlights the inherent deceitfulness of sin, which cunningly hides its true, devastating cost until its victim is ensnared.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Proverbs 5:6, with its solemn warning against deceptive, "moveable ways" that obscure the true "path of life," finds its ultimate and profound fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. While the proverb cautions against the unstable and unknowable paths of sin, Christ presents Himself as the unwavering, absolute, and true "Path of Life." He definitively declared, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Unlike the shifting, treacherous, and ultimately unknowable ways of sin that lead to destruction, Jesus offers a clear, stable, and perfectly knowable path to eternal life and genuine, abundant flourishing. He is the very embodiment of divine wisdom, in whom "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). Where the adulteress blinds one to the true consequences of their choices, Christ brings divine light and spiritual revelation, enabling us to discern with absolute clarity between good and evil, truth and deception. He liberates us from the slavery of sin and its hidden dangers, guiding us onto the "narrow gate" and the "path that leads to life" (Matthew 7:14), a path fully known, secured, and guaranteed by His perfect sacrifice on the cross and triumphant resurrection. In Him, we find not only the wisdom to truly ponder the true path but also the divine power and grace to walk in it, forever free from the deceptive allure and destructive consequences of the world's "moveable ways."