She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it.
Parallel Translations
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She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it.
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Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
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Lest she should walk the even path of life, her ways wander, but she knoweth it not.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Proverbs 5:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 4:26 Make the path of your feet level. Let all of your ways be established.
- Psalms 16:11 You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.
- Proverbs 5:21 For the ways of man are before Yahweh’s eyes. He examines all his paths.
- Psalms 119:59 I considered my ways, and turned my steps to your statutes.
- Proverbs 6:12-13 A worthless person, a man of iniquity, is he who walks with a perverse mouth, who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, who motions with his fingers,
- Proverbs 30:20 “So is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
- Proverbs 7:10-21 Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent. She is loud and defiant. Her feet don’t stay in her house. Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner. So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him: “Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. Today I have paid my vows. Therefore I came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you. I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let’s take our fill of loving until the morning. Let’s solace ourselves with loving. For my husband isn’t at home. He has gone on a long journey. He has taken a bag of money with him. He will come home at the full moon.” With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.
- Proverbs 11:19 He who is truly righteous gets life. He who pursues evil gets death.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain She hath ever new means to allure to wickedness.
She hath ever new means to allure to wickedness.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 5:6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of…
Pro 5:6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, [that] thou canst not know [them].
Ver. 6. Lest thou shouldest ponder,] q.d., Lest thou shouldest persuade thyself that thou mayest embrace the bosom of a stranger, and yet lay hold upon the paths of life by repenting thee of thy folly - this was Solomon’s error sometimes {Ecc 1:17; Ecc 2:3} - thou art utterly deceived herein, for her ways are moveable, so that thou observest not whither she tendeth; she wanders here and there (and thou with her), yet not so wide as to miss hell; lo, that is the centre whereunto she is rolling, that is the rendezvous for all her associates in sin.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, to…
Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, to prevent thy serious consideration of the way and manner of rescuing thyself from this deadly course of life.
Movable; various and changeable. She transforms herself into several shapes, to accommodate herself to the humours of her lovers, and hath a thousand arts and deceits to ensnare them, and hold them fast.
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Thou canst not know them; thou canst not discover all her subtle practices, and much less deliver thyself from them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life,.... Consider…
Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life,.... Consider and meditate which is the way to get out of her hands and ways, and escape death, and obtain eternal life; lest those she has drawn into her wicked course of life should be religiously inclined, and think of quitting such a course, and inquire after the way of life and salvation; and be weighing in their minds which is most eligible, to continue with her whose feet lead to death, or to take the path of life: to prevent all this, if possible,
her ways are movable: she appears in different shapes; changes her dress and habitation; makes use of a thousand arts to ensnare men, to entangle their affections, and retain them in her nets; she first puts them upon one thing, and then on another; she leads them into various mazes and labyrinths of sin, till they have lost all sense of religion, and sight of the path of life;
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that thou canst not know them; her ways, arts, and devices. Or, "thou canst not know" (k); that is, the way of life, or how to get out of her ways into that. Or, "thou knowest not"; where she goes, whither she leads thee, and what will be the end and issue of such a course of life. The Targum understands it, and so some other interpreters, of the harlot herself, paraphrasing the whole thus;
"in the way of life she walks not; her ways are unstable, and she knows not''
the way of life, nor where her ways will end; or, "cares not" (l) what becomes of her. And so, in like manner, the former part of the verse is understood and interpreted, "lest she ponder the path of life" (m); or as others, "she does not ponder the path of life" (n); The ways of the antichristian harlot are with all deceivableness of unrighteousness; and her chief care is to keep persons in ignorance, and from pondering the path of life or true religion, and to retain them in her idolatry, Th2 2:9.
(k) "non scires", Cocceius; "non cognosces", Baynus. (l) "Haud curat", Schultens. (m) "iter vitae ne forte libraverit", Schultens. (n) "Viam vitae non appendit, vel ponderat", Gejerus; so Luther; "iter vitae non expandit", Noldius, p. 249. No. 2008.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Lest - To prevent thy serious consideration. Moveable -…
Lest - To prevent thy serious consideration. Moveable - She transforms herself into several shapes, and has a thousand arts to ensnare. Know - Thou canst not discover all her practice.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. Lest thou shouldest ponder] To prevent thee…
Verse 6. Lest thou shouldest ponder] To prevent thee from reflecting on thy present conduct, and its consequences, her ways are moveable - she continually varies her allurements.
Thou canst not know them.] It is impossible to conceive all her tricks and wiles: to learn these in all their varieties, is a part of the science first taught in that infernal trade.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Or (with the Septuagint and Vulgate), Lest she should…
Or (with the Septuagint and Vulgate), Lest she should ponder (or “She ponders not”) the way of life, her paths move to and fro (unsteady as an earthquake); she knows not. The words describe with a terrible vividness the state of heart and soul which prostitution brings upon its victims; the reckless blindness that will not think, tottering on the abyss, yet loud in its defiant mirth, ignoring the dreadful future.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain They. Hebrew, "if perhaps thou ponder the path of…
They. Hebrew, "if perhaps thou ponder the path of life." (Pagnin) (Haydock) --- Or "she ponders not," &c. She walks inconsiderately, and consults only her passions, chap. vii. 10. (Calmet) --- No one can depend on her love. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain her ways . . . know--Some prefer, "that she…
her ways . . . know--Some prefer, "that she may not ponder the path of life," &c.; but perhaps a better sense is, "her ways are varied, so as to prevent your knowledge of her true character, and so of true happiness."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. Her ways are movable — She continually varies…
6. Her ways are movable — She continually varies her allurements.
Thou canst not — Or dost not.
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Know them — It is impossible to conceive all the tricks and arts of her infernal trade. Beware of them. The verse is obscure, owing to the fact that in the Hebrew verb the form of the third person singular feminine and the second person singular masculine are the same, and it is difficult in this case to determine whether to translate she or thou. Zockler renders, “The path of life she never treadeth; her steps stray, she knows not whither.” Stuart, “That she may not ponder the path of life, her ways are become unsteady while she regards it not.” To the same purpose others. Conant, “That thou mayest not ponder, etc., her paths waver ere thou knowest.” “She weigheth not the way of life; her paths are movable; thou canst not know them.” — Geneva Bible. “For she goes not upon the paths of life; but her ways are slippery, and not easily known.” — Sept. The words describe with a terrible vividness the state of heart and soul which prostitution brings upon its victim; the reckless blindness that will not think, tottering to the abyss, yet loud in defiant mirth, ignoring the dreadful future. Our English version, however, is supported by some good authorities.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. Lest thou shouldest ponder] The rendering of A.V.…
6. Lest thou shouldest ponder] The rendering of A.V. or of R.V. marg. (Lest thou find the level path, or, Lest thou weigh carefully the path) is to be preferred to R.V. text which connects the words with the preceding verse and makes them refer to the strange woman: so that she findeth not the level path of life. Having described in Pro_5:5 the end to which her ways lead, the wise Teacher in this verse unveils the artful versatility with which she allures her victims from the plain path of life, and keeps them from the reflection which might lead them to return to it.
thou canst not know them] So R.V. marg., but R.V. text, making the strange woman still the subject, she knoweth it not, Comp. Psa_35:8, where the same Heb. expression is rendered “at unawares.” See for the sentiment ch. Pro_7:22-23.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) Lest thou shouldest ponder . . .—The meaning…
(6) Lest thou shouldest ponder . . .—The meaning of the English version appears to be, “To prevent thy choosing the path of life, she leads thee by devious paths that thou knowest not where thou art.” It may also be rendered, “Far from smoothing for herself the path of life, her steps wander without her observing it.” By these words is described the reckless career of a vicious woman, who at last dares not think whither her steps are leading her, but as it were with eyes shut, totters on till she falls to rise no more.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her…
Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are movable, that thou canst not know them. This verse should be rather rendered, she walks not in the path of life, her ways fiuctuate, she knows not. It consists of a series of independent propositions or statements, all of which are descriptive of the singularly fatuous conduct of "the strange woman." In the previous verse the teacher has said that her conduct leads to ruin; he here further emphasizes the idea by putting forward the same truth from the opposite, or, as we may say, from the negative point of view, and so completes the picture. "The words," as Plumptre remarks, "describe with terrible vividness the state of heart and soul which prostitution brings on its victims." Her course is one of persistent, wilful, headstrong, blind folly and wickedness. Lest; pen; here "not," equivalent to al (lo). So the LXX, Vulgate, Targum, Syriac. The use of pen, in this sense is, however, unique (Gesenius). Delitzsch and Zockler, following Luther, Geier, Holden, etc., assign to it an emphatic negative force, as, "She is far removed from entering," or, "she never treadeth." Others take pen as a dependent prohibitive particle, equivalent to the Latin ne forte, "lest," as in the Authorized Version, and employed to connect the sentence which it introduces either with the preceding verse (as Schultens) or with the second hemistich, on which it is made dependent (Holden, Wordsworth, Aben Ezra, loc., Michaelis, etc.). Thou shouldest ponder; t"phalles, connected by makkeph with pen, as usual (Lee), is either second person masculine or third person feminine. The latter is required here, the subject of the sentence being "the strange woman," as appears clearly from the second hemistich, her ways," etc. The verb patas (cf. Pro_14:26) here means "to prepare," i.e. to walk in, or to travel over. Thus Gesenius renders, "She (the adulteress) prepareth not (for herself) the way of life:" i.e. she does not walk in the way of life; cf. the LXX eisercetai , Vulgate ambulant (sc. gressus ejus), and other ancient versions, all of which understand the verb in this sense. The meaning of the phrase, pen t"phalles, is, therefore, "she walks not" in the way of life the way that has life for its object, and which in itself is full of life and safety. Far from doing this, the teacher goes on to say, her ways are movable; literally, go to and fro, or fluctuate; i.e. they wilfully stagger hither and thither, like the steps of a drunkard, or like the uncertain steps of the blind, for the verb nua is so used in the former sense in Isa_24:20 Isa_29:9 Psa_107:27; and in the latter in Lam_4:14. Her steps are slippery (LXX, sfalerai ), or wander (Vulgate, vagi); they are without any definite aim; she is always straying in the vagrancy of sin (Wordsworth); cf. Pro_7:12. That thou canst not know them (lo theda); literally, she knows not. The elliptical form of this sentence in the original leaves it open to various interpretations. It seems to refer to the way of life; she knows not the way of life, i.e. she does not regard or perceive the way of life. The verb yada often has this meaning. The meaning may be obtained by supplying mah, equivalent to quicquam, "anything," as in Pro_9:13, "She knows not anything," i.e. she knows nothing. The objection to this is that it travels unnecessarily out of the sentence to find the object which ought rather to be supplied from the context. The object may possibly be the staggering of her feet: she staggers hither and thither without her perceiving it (Delitzsch); or it may, lastly, be indefinite: she knows not whittler her steps conduct her (Wordsworth and Zockler).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know…
Pro_5:6
Her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
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The movable ways of the tempter
The wiseman lets us know how foolish it is for men to flatter themselves with the hope that they shall by and by be truly disposed and enabled to repent of their sin. The temptress can form her mode of behaviour into a hundred shapes to entangle the heart of the lover. She spreads a thousand snares, and if you escape one of them, you will find yourself held fast by another. She knows well how to suit her words and behaviour to your present humour, to lull conscience asleep, and to spread before your eyes such a mist as shall prevent you from being able to descry the paths of life. If you ever think of the danger of your course, and feel the necessity of changing it, she will urge you to spend a little time longer in the pleasures of sin. If her solicitations prevail, if you linger within the precincts of guilt, your resolutions are weakened, and your passions gain new strength. What is the awful result? The devil obtains more influence; conscience, forcibly repressed, ceases to reclaim with so loud a voice; God gives you up to the lusts of your own heart, and leaves you to choose your own delusions. Attend, then, to the wisest of men, who instructs you to keep free of these dangerous temptations. (G. Lawson, D. D.)
Movableness
The text refers to a sinful character who endeavours to keep her companion in vice by her movable ways. Few can say with Paul, None of these things move me. We are liable to be acted upon by influences within and without us. It is a grave weakness to be easily movable to bad and faulty ways. Movableness is the prevalent fault of probably every one of us. How easily we are moved to speak in haste. How difficult to keep our eye from being moved to look on evil. We are urged to fix our affections on things above, but who can do this in his own strength? Are we not movable in our friendships? Perhaps movable Christians love only themselves; and if this be so, it needs but a short time and a slight ruffle against their feathers to move them. Some are easily movable from their work for God and for humanity. Some, perhaps all of us, at times, are movable in our faith. Do not allow yourself to be moved from trusting in the love of Jesus, and never be ashamed of being His faithful disciple. Some are moved from the comfort of prayer. (William Birch.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.