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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Proverbs 23:27 For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/proverbs/23-27.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/9/20_Pro_23_27.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Proverbs 23:27 - True Riches" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well." /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/proverbs/23.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/proverbs/23.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/proverbs/23.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />For a whore <i>is</i> a deep ditch; and a strange woman <i>is</i> a narrow pit.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/proverbs/23.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />For a harlot <i>is</i> a deep pit, And a seductress <i>is</i> a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/proverbs/23.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute is a deep pit, And a strange woman is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/proverbs/23.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />For a harlot is a deep pit And an adulterous woman is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/proverbs/23.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />For a harlot is a deep pit, And an adulterous woman is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/proverbs/23.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />For a harlot is a deep pit And a foreign woman is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/proverbs/23.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute is a deep pit, And an immoral woman is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/proverbs/23.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute is a deep pit, and a wayward woman is a narrow well;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/proverbs/23.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute is a deep pit, and a stranger is a narrow well; <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/proverbs/23.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />For a harlot is a deep ditch; And a foreign woman is a narrow pit.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/proverbs/23.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />Bad women and unfaithful wives are like a deep pit--<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/proverbs/23.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/proverbs/23.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />A prostitute is a deep pit. A loose woman is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/proverbs/23.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />Prostitutes and immoral women are a deadly trap. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/proverbs/23.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />because a prostitute is a deep pit, and the adulterous woman a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/proverbs/23.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/proverbs/23.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />for a prostitute is like a deep pit; a harlot is like a narrow well. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/proverbs/23.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute is a deep pit; and a wayward wife is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/proverbs/23.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />For a lewd woman is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/proverbs/23.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute is a deep pit; and a wayward wife is a narrow well. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/proverbs/23.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />For a harlot [is] a deep ditch, "" And a strange woman [is] a narrow pit.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/proverbs/23.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> For a harlot is a deep ditch, And a strange woman is a strait pit.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/proverbs/23.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />For a harlot is a deep ditch; and a strong woman a narrow well.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/proverbs/23.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/proverbs/23.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />For a loose woman is a deep pit, and a foreign woman is a constricted well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/proverbs/23.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />For the harlot is a deep pit, and the foreign woman a narrow well; <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/proverbs/23.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/proverbs/23.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />For a harlot is a deep pit; and a strange woman is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/proverbs/23.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />For a whore is a deep ditch and an estranged woman is a disturbed well.<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/proverbs/23.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />For a harlot is a deep ditch; And an alien woman is a narrow pit.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/proverbs/23.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />For a strange house is a vessel full of holes; and a strange well is narrow.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/proverbs/23-27.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kpUA5ZltBeQ?start=4758" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/proverbs/23.htm">True Riches</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">26</span>My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways. <span class="reftext">27</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/3588.htm" title="3588: kî- (Conj) -- That, for, when. ">For</a> <a href="/hebrew/2181.htm" title="2181: zō·w·nāh (N-fs) -- To commit fornication, be a harlot. A primitive root; to commit adultery; figuratively, to commit idolatry.">a prostitute</a> <a href="/hebrew/6013.htm" title="6013: ‘ă·muq·qāh (Adj-fs) -- From amaq; deep.">is a deep</a> <a href="/hebrew/7745.htm" title="7745: šū·ḥāh (N-fs) -- A pit. From shuwach; a chasm.">pit,</a> <a href="/hebrew/5237.htm" title="5237: nā·ḵə·rî·yāh (Adj-fs) -- Foreign, alien. From neker; strange, in a variety of degrees and applications.">and an adulteress</a> <a href="/hebrew/6862.htm" title="6862: ṣā·rāh (Adj-fs) -- Narrow, a tight place, a pebble, an opponent. Or tsar; from tsarar; narrow; a tight place; also a pebble; an opponent.">is a narrow</a> <a href="/hebrew/875.htm" title="875: ū·ḇə·’êr (Conj-w:: N-fs) -- A well, pit. From ba'ar; a pit; especially a well.">well.</a> </span><span class="reftext">28</span>Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/5-3.htm">Proverbs 5:3-5</a></span><br />Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, / in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword. / Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/7-24.htm">Proverbs 7:24-27</a></span><br />Now, my sons, listen to me, and attend to the words of my mouth. / Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. / For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/6-24.htm">Proverbs 6:24-26</a></span><br />to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. / Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. / For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/2-16.htm">Proverbs 2:16-19</a></span><br />It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words / who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. / For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ecclesiastes/7-26.htm">Ecclesiastes 7:26</a></span><br />And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/judges/16-4.htm">Judges 16:4-21</a></span><br />Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. / The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.” / So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.” ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/genesis/39-7.htm">Genesis 39:7-12</a></span><br />and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.” / But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care. / No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?” ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_kings/11-1.htm">1 Kings 11:1-4</a></span><br />King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. / These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. / He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/3-6.htm">Jeremiah 3:6-10</a></span><br />Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there. / I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. / She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ezekiel/16-30.htm">Ezekiel 16:30-34</a></span><br />How weak-willed is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, while you do all these things, the acts of a shameless prostitute! / But when you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were not even like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. / You adulterous wife! You receive strangers instead of your own husband! ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/5-27.htm">Matthew 5:27-28</a></span><br />You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ / But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/6-18.htm">1 Corinthians 6:18-20</a></span><br />Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. / Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; / you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/james/1-14.htm">James 1:14-15</a></span><br />But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. / Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_thessalonians/4-3.htm">1 Thessalonians 4:3-5</a></span><br />For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; / each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, / not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_peter/2-14.htm">2 Peter 2:14</a></span><br />Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/james/4-4.htm">Adulterous</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-5.htm">Adventuress</a> <a href="/proverbs/20-16.htm">Alien</a> <a href="/proverbs/22-14.htm">Deep</a> <a href="/proverbs/22-14.htm">Ditch</a> <a href="/psalms/137-4.htm">Foreign</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-10.htm">Harlot</a> <a href="/job/37-2.htm">Hollow</a> <a href="/2_kings/9-22.htm">Lewd</a> <a href="/proverbs/4-12.htm">Narrow</a> <a href="/proverbs/22-14.htm">Pit</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-10.htm">Prostitute</a> <a href="/job/36-16.htm">Strait</a> <a href="/proverbs/22-14.htm">Strange</a> <a href="/1_chronicles/11-18.htm">Water-Hole</a> <a href="/proverbs/20-16.htm">Wayward</a> <a href="/judges/19-2.htm">Whore</a> <a href="/proverbs/21-19.htm">Wife</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/proverbs/27-13.htm">Adulterous</a> <a href="/proverbs/2-16.htm">Adventuress</a> <a href="/proverbs/27-13.htm">Alien</a> <a href="/proverbs/25-3.htm">Deep</a> <a href="/isaiah/22-11.htm">Ditch</a> <a href="/proverbs/27-13.htm">Foreign</a> <a href="/isaiah/1-21.htm">Harlot</a> <a href="/proverbs/30-4.htm">Hollow</a> <a href="/isaiah/57-3.htm">Lewd</a> <a href="/isaiah/28-20.htm">Narrow</a> <a href="/proverbs/26-27.htm">Pit</a> <a href="/isaiah/1-21.htm">Prostitute</a> <a href="/isaiah/49-19.htm">Strait</a> <a href="/proverbs/23-33.htm">Strange</a> <a href="/jeremiah/38-7.htm">Water-Hole</a> <a href="/proverbs/27-13.htm">Wayward</a> <a href="/isaiah/57-3.htm">Whore</a> <a href="/proverbs/25-24.htm">Wife</a><div class="vheading2">Proverbs 23</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/23-1.htm">Consider carefully what is before you</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/proverbs/23.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/proverbs/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/proverbs/23.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>For a prostitute is a deep pit</b><br>In biblical times, a "deep pit" was a metaphor for danger and entrapment. Pits were often used as traps for animals or as prisons for people (<a href="/genesis/37-24.htm">Genesis 37:24</a>, <a href="/jeremiah/38-6.htm">Jeremiah 38:6</a>). The imagery suggests that engaging with a prostitute leads to spiritual and moral peril, akin to falling into a trap from which escape is difficult. The use of "deep pit" emphasizes the depth of the potential fall and the difficulty of extrication once ensnared. This aligns with the broader biblical teaching on sexual immorality, which is consistently portrayed as leading to destruction (<a href="/proverbs/5-3.htm">Proverbs 5:3-5</a>, <a href="/1_corinthians/6-18.htm">1 Corinthians 6:18</a>).<p><b>and an adulteress is a narrow well</b><br>A "narrow well" in ancient times would have been a source of life-giving water, but if narrow, it could be dangerous and difficult to access. This metaphor suggests that an adulteress, like a narrow well, may promise refreshment or satisfaction but ultimately leads to danger and difficulty. Wells were essential for survival in the arid regions of the Near East, and a narrow or treacherous well could symbolize false promises or hidden dangers. The comparison to an adulteress highlights the deceptive allure of adultery, which promises fulfillment but results in spiritual and relational harm (<a href="/proverbs/6-32.htm">Proverbs 6:32-33</a>, <a href="/james/1-14.htm">James 1:14-15</a>). This imagery also connects to the broader biblical theme of faithfulness, contrasting the fidelity expected in marriage with the destructive nature of infidelity.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/p/prostitute.htm">Prostitute</a></b><br>In the context of Proverbs, a prostitute represents not only literal sexual immorality but also spiritual unfaithfulness. The Hebrew word used here is (zonah), which can refer to a harlot or someone who is unfaithful.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/a/adulteress.htm">Adulteress</a></b><br>This term refers to a woman who engages in sexual relations outside of marriage. The Hebrew word (nokriyah) can also imply foreignness or strangeness, suggesting a departure from covenantal faithfulness.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/d/deep_pit.htm">Deep Pit</a></b><br>This metaphor indicates danger and entrapment. In ancient times, a pit was often used as a trap for animals, symbolizing the peril and difficulty of escape once ensnared.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/n/narrow_well.htm">Narrow Well</a></b><br>A narrow well suggests a confined space that is difficult to escape from, symbolizing the restrictive and consuming nature of engaging in adultery.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_danger_of_sexual_immorality.htm">The Danger of Sexual Immorality</a></b><br>Sexual immorality is not just a physical act but a spiritual danger that can lead to entrapment and destruction. Believers are called to recognize and avoid these pitfalls.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/s/spiritual_faithfulness.htm">Spiritual Faithfulness</a></b><br>Just as physical adultery is a betrayal of marital vows, spiritual unfaithfulness is a betrayal of our covenant with God. We must remain vigilant and faithful in our relationship with Him.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_consequences_of_sin.htm">The Consequences of Sin</a></b><br>Sin often presents itself as alluring and harmless, but it leads to entrapment and spiritual death. Understanding the consequences helps us make wise choices.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_wisdom_and_discernment.htm">The Importance of Wisdom and Discernment</a></b><br>Proverbs emphasizes the need for wisdom and discernment to navigate life's challenges. By seeking God's wisdom, we can avoid the traps of sin.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/a/accountability_and_community.htm">Accountability and Community</a></b><br>Engaging in a community of believers provides accountability and support, helping us to resist temptation and remain faithful.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_proverbs_23.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Proverbs 23</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_fuels_prostitution's_essence.htm">What drives the essence of prostitution?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_focus_on_her_guilt,_not_his_role.htm">Why does Proverbs 7 focus on the woman's guilt while largely overlooking the man's responsibility (vv. 7-9)?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_constitutes_sexual_immorality.htm">What constitutes sexual immorality?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_does_genesis_38_fit_biblical_ethics.htm">In Genesis 38 overall, how does this morally complex story align with the broader biblical narrative on sexual ethics and lineage preservation?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/proverbs/23.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(27) <span class= "bld">Strange woman </span>(<span class= "ital">nokhriyyah</span>)<span class= "ital">.--See </span>above, on <a href="/proverbs/2-16.htm" title="To deliver you from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flatters with her words;">Proverbs 2:16</a>.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/proverbs/23.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 27.</span> - The need of the emphatic injunction in ver. 26 is exemplified by the dangers of impurity. <span class="cmt_word">A deep ditch;</span> as <a href="/proverbs/22-14.htm">Proverbs 22:14</a>. <span class="cmt_word">A strange woman is a narrow pit.</span> (For "strange woman," equivalent to "harlot," see on Proverbs 2:16.) A narrow pit is one with a narrow month, from which, if one falls into it, it is difficult to extricate one's self. The verse indicates the seductive nature of the vice of unchastity: how easy it is to be led into it! how difficult to rise from it! Thus St. Chrysostom ('Hom. 11, in 1 Corinthians'), "When by unclean desire the soul is made captive, even as a cloud and mist darken the eyes of the body, so that desire intercepts the foresight of the mind, and suffers no one to see any distance before him, either precipice, or hell, or fear; but thenceforth, having that deceit as a tyrant over him, he comes to be easily vanquished by sin; and there is raised up before his eyes as it were a partition wall, and no windows in it, which suffers not the ray of righteousness to shine in upon the mind, the absurd conceits of lust enclosing it as with a rampart on all sides. And then, and from that time forward, the unchaste woman is everywhere meeting him - before his eyes, before his mind, before his thoughts, in station and presence. And as the blind, although they stand at high noon beneath the very central point of the heaven, receive not the light, their eyes being fast closed up; just so these also, though ten thousand doctrines of salvation sound in their ears from all quarters, having their soul preoccupied with this passion, stop their ears against all discourses of that kind. And they know it well who have made the trial. But God forbid that you should know it from actual experience!" The LXX. has changed the allusion: "For a strange house is a pierced wine jar (<span class="greek">πίθος</span> <span class="greek">τετρημένος</span>), and a strange well is narrow," where the idea seems to be that the private well, which is dug for the convenience of one family only, is not to be relied upon, and will yield not enough to supply others' wants. Hence would arise a warning against coveting a neighbour's wife. There is a Greek proverb about drawing wine into pierced jars (Xen., 'OEcon.,' 7:40). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/proverbs/23-27.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">For</span><br /><span class="heb">כִּֽי־</span> <span class="translit">(kî-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunction<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3588.htm">Strong's 3588: </a> </span><span class="str2">A relative conjunction</span><br /><br /><span class="word">a prostitute</span><br /><span class="heb">זוֹנָ֑ה</span> <span class="translit">(zō·w·nāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2181.htm">Strong's 2181: </a> </span><span class="str2">To commit adultery, to commit idolatry</span><br /><br /><span class="word">is a deep</span><br /><span class="heb">עֲמֻקָּ֣ה</span> <span class="translit">(‘ă·muq·qāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adjective - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6013.htm">Strong's 6013: </a> </span><span class="str2">Deep</span><br /><br /><span class="word">pit,</span><br /><span class="heb">שׁוּחָ֣ה</span> <span class="translit">(šū·ḥāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_7745.htm">Strong's 7745: </a> </span><span class="str2">A chasm</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and an adulteress</span><br /><span class="heb">נָכְרִיָּֽה׃</span> <span class="translit">(nā·ḵə·rî·yāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adjective - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5237.htm">Strong's 5237: </a> </span><span class="str2">Foreign, alien</span><br /><br /><span class="word">is a narrow</span><br /><span class="heb">צָ֝רָ֗ה</span> <span class="translit">(ṣā·rāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adjective - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6862.htm">Strong's 6862: </a> </span><span class="str2">Narrow, a tight place, a pebble, an opponent</span><br /><br /><span class="word">well.</span><br /><span class="heb">וּבְאֵ֥ר</span> <span class="translit">(ū·ḇə·’êr)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_875.htm">Strong's 875: </a> </span><span class="str2">A pit, a well</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/proverbs/23-27.htm">Proverbs 23:27 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/proverbs/23-27.htm">Proverbs 23:27 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/proverbs/23-27.htm">Proverbs 23:27 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/proverbs/23-27.htm">Proverbs 23:27 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/proverbs/23-27.htm">Proverbs 23:27 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/proverbs/23-27.htm">Proverbs 23:27 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/proverbs/23-27.htm">Proverbs 23:27 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/proverbs/23-27.htm">Proverbs 23:27 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/proverbs/23-27.htm">Proverbs 23:27 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/proverbs/23-27.htm">Proverbs 23:27 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/proverbs/23-27.htm">OT Poetry: Proverbs 23:27 For a prostitute is a deep pit (Prov. Pro Pr) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/proverbs/23-26.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Proverbs 23:26"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Proverbs 23:26" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/proverbs/23-28.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Proverbs 23:28"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Proverbs 23:28" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>