Proverbs 5:4 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 5:1-14

Here we have, I. A solemn preface, to introduce the caution which follows, Prov. 5:1, 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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 5:4

But her end is bitter as wormwood ,.... Which is opposed to the honeycomb her lips are said to drop; so that, as Juvenal says F7 Satyr. 6. v. 180. "Lingua dicta dulcia dabis, corde amara facilis", Plauti Truculentus, Act. 1. Sc. 1. v. 77. Cistellaria, Act. 1. Sc. 1. v. 70, 71, 72. , "plus aloes quam mellis habet": the end which she brings persons to, or the issue of complying with her, is bitterness; such as loss of credit, substance, and health, remorse of conscience, and fear of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 5:4

Bitter as wormwood - כלענה Kelanah , like the detestable herb wormwood, or something analogous to it: something as excessive in its bitterness, as honey is in its sweetness. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:1-14

Meretricious pleasures and their results I. GENERAL ADMONITION . ( Proverbs 5:1-3 .) Similar prefaces to warnings against unchastity are found in Proverbs 6:20 , etc.; Proverbs 7:1 , etc. The same forms of iteration for the sake of urgency are observed. A fresh expression is, "That thy lips may keep insight." That is, let the lessons of wisdom be oft conned over; to keep them on the lips is to "get them by heart." "Consideration" ( Proverbs 7:2 ), circumspection,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:1-20

Victims of vice One particular vice is here denounced; it is necessary to warn the young against its snares and sorrows. What is here said, however, of this sin is applicable, in most if not all respects, to any kind of unholy indulgence; it is an earnest and faithful warning against the sin and shame of a vicious life. I. ITS SINFULNESS . The woman who is a sinner is a "strange" woman ( Proverbs 5:3 ). The temptress is all too common amongst us, but she is strange in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:1-23

8. Eighth admonitory discourse. Warning against adultery, and commendation of marriage. The teacher, in this discourse, recurs to a subject which he has glanced at before in Proverbs 2:15-19 , and which he again treats of in the latter part of the sixth and in the whole of the seventh chapters. This constant recurrence to the same subject, repulsive on account of its associations, shows, however, the importance which it had in the teacher's estimation as a ground of warning, and that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:4

The contrast is drawn with great vividness between the professions of the "strange woman" and the disastrous consequences which overtake those who listen to her enticements. She promises enjoyment, pleasure, freedom from danger, but her end is bitter as wormwood. "Her end," not merely with reference to herself, which may be and is undoubtedly true, but the last of her as experienced by those who have intercourse with her—her character as it stands revealed at the last. So it is said of... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 5:3-6

Proverbs 5:3-6. For the lips of a strange woman, &c. It concerns thee to get and to use discretion, that thou mayest be able to resist those manifold temptations to which thou art exposed; drop as a honeycomb Her words and discourses are sweet, pleasing, and prevalent. But her end is bitter as wormwood Her design, and the effect of that lewdness to which she entices men, are the sinner’s destruction. So that the beginning of this intercourse is not so sweet as the conclusion is... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Proverbs 5:1-23

Temptations to sexual immorality (5:1-23)Strong warning is given to beware of the prostitute and the temptations she offers. (The frequency of this warning in Proverbs indicates that prostitution must have been a widespread social evil at the time.) The pleasure that the prostitute brings is shortlived, but the bitterness that follows is lasting. It leads eventually to death (5:1-6).A man must flee the temptations offered by such immoral company, otherwise he may finish a physical and moral... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Proverbs 5:4

4. her end—literally, "her future," in sense of reward, what follows (compare Psalms 37:37; Psalms 73:17). Its nature is evinced by the use of figures, opposite those of Psalms 73:17- :. The physical and moral suffering of the deluded profligate are notoriously terrible. read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 5:1-14

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 5:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 5:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:1-14

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:1-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:1-23

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:4

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 5:3-6

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Proverbs 5:1-23

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Proverbs 5:4

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